New Delhi: Oversight Committee Chairman M Veerappa Moily, on Saturady said with the right infrastructure, the increased quota could be put in place without lowering standards.
He had been asked to prepare a roadmap for implementing the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions.
"By including more people, I don't think the standard would be lowered, provided we give equal support in infrastructure and faculty," he said.
As the common entrance test was administered at the same standard for general and backward caste categories, the question of merit was misplaced, he said.
"I introduced the system of the Common Entrance Test (CET) for the first time in the country. Consequently, everything transformed," said the former Karnataka chief minister.
Asked whether the standard was not lowered in the CET as the reserved category also had to pass the same test, Moily said the standard was never lowered in the CET.
The difference between general category and backward class students may be 1.5-2 per cent and between SC and backward class students, it may be 2-3 per cent. "So how do you measure merit?" he asked.
To a question whether the country could have 50 IITs, he said, "Why not? Massachusetts is one example where in one campus they can have 5,000 students."
Asked how the money would come for such an expansion, Moily said funds should be available. He had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the finance secretary, who had assured that the money would be available.
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