affirmative action in education do we still need it?

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Introduction
The world is full of prejudice in many sectors. Inequality is not limited to race, but it is also exhibited in learning institutions. It is amazing that people will always strive to get equal opportunities, but as fate has it, bias is never lacking. By definition, affirmative action refers to placing policies in place so as to eliminate disparities linked to race, gender, and locations of work, political positions or even education institutions. Therefore, affirmative action in education structures refers to placing rules and regulations to eliminate prejudice in how individuals get opportunities in the learning institutions. Using affirmative action helps serve several purposes such as doing away with inequalities, fostering diversity, correcting past mistakes and increasing opportunities for accessing certain facilities (“Affirmative Action,” n.d.). What stands out about affirmative action is that it appraises minorities because policies are put in place to eliminate all manner of disparities. Globally, the academic sector has undergone a tremendous transformation, therefore, raising questions about whether affirmative action is still necessary. Therefore, do we still need to employ affirmative action in the current world?
Pros
Disabled people
Every single day, there are newborns in the universe, but shockingly not all of them are of sound physical or mental health. The disabled children need to access education so as to acquire the knowledge they can apply in the future and this is only possible by employing affirmative action.

Affirmative action promotes equality, that is, it guarantees that both able and disabled kids get equal opportunities to study. In the past, disabled children were viewed as burdens to the society as a whole, but that is a stereotype that has to be eliminated since these kids are gifted and capable of doing most things like any other normal child. Affirmative action in the educational structures is important since it guarantees that children suffering from disabilities are not discriminated against when it comes to learning rather they are given opportunities to pursue their dreams. The best way to reduce the dependence of disabled children on members of their societies is giving them a chance to study. If educational institutions are directed by the government to set aside a particular number of positions for children with disabilities, then it will ensure that disabled children can access education as those without any physical or mental deformity (“Affirmative-action and people with disabilities | Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),” 2012). Therefore, affirmative action is the only sure way of ensuring that children with mental or physical incapacities get equal opportunities in learning institutions without any manner of discrimination.
Empowering females
There has always been a negative perception that the male gender is better than the female, but this notion does not hold. The above stereotype has played a major role in limiting the knowledge of women hence the need to employ affirmative action to guarantee that they get equal learning opportunities as men. Globally, there are nations where women empowerment is taken negatively especially when it comes to accessing education. For example, in Africa, women in nomadic societies are not encouraged to go to school, and in some instances, females getting into learning institutions is viewed as a taboo. Therefore, what is the best approach to help bright girls in pastoral communities or those societies that have negative perceptions regarding women? The answer is in embracing affirmative action in the education structures. Affirmative action should be taken to ensure that both sexes have equal opportunities to access education to the level of an individual’s desire. Therefore, learning centers should be directed to enroll both genders without discriminating against gender. It is surprising that when women get educated, they will always strive to foster development hence creating the need to eliminate prejudice in academic centers (“Efforts to Empower Women, Initiatives to Promote Sustainable Economic Growth Mutually Reinforcing, Say Third Committee Speakers | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases,” n.d.). Affirmative action should not be eradicated so as to ensure that all genders have equal opportunities of accessing education.
Promoting diversity
Globalization has played a significant role in promoting movement of people across the universe, therefore, creating centers that have people from different races or cultures. It is shocking that some races are perceived better than others, but in reality, all people despite origin are equal. The issue of racism has influenced many sectors ranging from healthcare to education hence creating disparities that need to be eliminated. Affirmative action ensures that students of different races can access education without any form of bias. The education sector has to embrace the diversity that is, promoting equal education opportunities for individuals of all races. In some states, minorities cannot get into certain academic institutions that are considered for the elite and the only way to eliminate this is by using affirmative action. No person is better placed than another hence the need to nurture equality in the education sector. Therefore, using affirmative action will promote diversity in learning institutions since the admission criteria will not be based on race or origin rather on academic excellence.
Fostering development
In many instances, knowledge will always tend to be associated with power. Therefore, accessing education favors growth and development in marginal areas. Most societies will always tend to associate development with knowledge since education favors innovation. Some areas tend to be marginalized because they did not get the opportunity to get into learning institutions. Therefore, adopting affirmative action in the modern world will foster the development of social amenities and infrastructure in marginal areas. Disparities exist between the elite and those individuals of low social status probably due to differences in accessing learning institutions. The elite will always tend to grow their wealth since they can afford the best education and to any level, they desire as compared to those of low social status. Therefore, authorities need to put in place the affirmative action in the education sectors to eliminate prejudice on access to education depending on social status. Affirmative action will give all people, whether elite or from low social status equal opportunity to access education. When all people get equal academic chances, development of infrastructure and social amenities will be inevitable in areas of low social status. Therefore, affirmative action will promote development in the regions characterized by individuals of low social status. Applying policies that eliminate prejudice in admission to learning institutions, the development characterized by innovation and inventions will not only be limited to the elite but will spread evenly without being constrained by the social status.
Cons
Prejudiced admission
Affirmative action aims at eliminating prejudice in the admission criteria of individuals considered minorities but in reality, it tends to promote bias. Affirmative action in the education systems targets to achieve equality in learning institutions by ensuring that minorities get equal opportunities to study. When policies regarding admission are formulated, a goal is set, and this target could promote bias in the selection criteria. Applying affirmative action may lead to a situation where individuals with excellent academic qualification miss opportunities to join learning institutions because opportunities have been set aside for those individuals considered minorities. The affirmative action does not eliminate prejudice rather it promotes discrimination in that qualified, or talented individuals miss opportunities to join the academic centers since there are chances reserved for minorities. Further, the set-aside opportunities can be obtained unscrupulously by people that take advantage of the policies put in place. Reserved positions may create competition hence when learning institutions have corrupt individuals then it becomes easy for students to get positions unfairly (Featherman, Hall, & Krislov, 2010). It is my belief that all people, whether able-bodied or physically disabled should get into academic institutions by merit. Therefore, affirmative action should be eliminated, and all people should compete for positions in learning centers without considering equality. Removing the affirmative action will promote academic excellence and eliminate any prejudice in the admission criteria.
Conclusion
In finality, affirmative action should not be repealed in the education structures since it has more positive outcomes than the negative ones. Reserving posts in education centers ensures that children born with physical or psychological disabilities get an opportunity to pursue their dreams without facing prejudice. Further, affirmative action empowers both genders since stereotypes are eliminated, and both men and women are given equal opportunities to access any level of education. Affirmative action has one con in the education since it might promote bias by admitting students that do not meet certain academic criteria because they have reserved posts. Despite the numerous positive contributions, affirmative action should be eliminated to ensure that access to learning centers is based on merit.
References
Affirmative Action. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/affirmaction.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Affirmative-action and people with disabilities | Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (2012, February 5). Retrieved from http://www.williamgoren.com/blog/2012/02/05/affirmative-action-and-people-with-disabilities/
Efforts to Empower Women, Initiatives to Promote Sustainable Economic Growth Mutually Reinforcing, Say Third Committee Speakers | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.un.org/press/en/2009/gashc3950.doc.htm
Featherman, D. L., Hall, M., & Krislov, M. (2010). The next twenty-five years: Affirmative action in higher education in the United States and South Africa. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.