Re: [MTC Global] Is the govt’s new education policy a blessing or a bane?

Sir, the essay is thought provoking. Firstly, it enjoins the Govt and committees to take
into account the voice of the people and to what they seek from modern education. The
letter of Raja Rammohan Roy represents the sane and well thought voice of the people- the
beneficiaries of education. He cautions the then rulers not to impose their own system of
education without considering the sensitivities of the subjects.
This is the same advice to our present Govt. thru the MHRD. That policies are formed
without public debate is a fact. It is also been the fact, that policies formed thru
public pressure have been left to be forgotten thru inaction. A case in point is the Lok
Pal bill. It is yet to be implemented in full.
RTI which is a landmark act is also undergoing the same treatment.
The general ignorance and apathy of the public at large has been used by the Govt to
create policies without discussion.
Now UGC and AICTE, two bodies overseeing the quality of education are being merged into a
single entity, will be expected to carry on the same activity and also lay down the
higher education policies.
Can the educational and other policies be free from political ideology. Perhaps not, but
when such political leanings become extreme, then policies would also undergo change with
the change of Governments ( which means every few years ) hellbent on undoing the
policies of the previous Govt.
Today, the old left leaning policies are being disbanded. One may find the new policies
to be radically different but who can say how long this policy will last when a new set
of left leaning policies would be enforced once the present Govt get voted out of power.
Best Regards,
K.Paranjpe


On Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:44:48 +0530 "virendra goel" wrote
> We have been making a point for a long time that de-politicization of education is the
road to a desired quality in education. Can we define the term de-politicization? If it
means non-interference of the government, can we (stake holders other than government)
really guarantee that education will become (1) unscrupulous elements free (2) teacher's
competencies will become excellent (3) costs will be reasonable?RegardsVirendra Goel
From: join_mtc@googlegroups.com [mailto:join_mtc@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Prof.
Bholanath Dutta
Sent: Saturday, July 08, 2017 11:13 AM
To: join_mtc
Subject: [MTC Global] Is the govt's new education policy a blessing or a bane?Author:
Markand R PranjpePoet & Professor: JNUOn December 11, 1823, Raja Rammohan Roy wrote to
the Governor-General of India, Lord Amherst, "Humbly reluctant as the natives of India
are to obtrude upon the notice of Government the sentiments they entertain on any public
measure, there are circumstances when silence would be carrying this respectful feeling
to culpable excess." The address was presented to the new rulers of India, 12 years
before Lord Macaulay's infamous Minute of 1835 that arguably changed the course not only
of Indian education, but of our culture, society, and civilisation. Many have argued that
Rammohan's arguments against the Sanskrit College and Sanskrit education influenced
Macaulay's decision not only to impose English as a medium of instruction, but English or
Western education on the people of India. Some trace the terrible state of Indian
education to that fateful moment. Others, contrarily, claim that it was Macaulay and
English who saved India from the dark ages.Whatever our positions, we cannot miss
Rammohan's irony when he says, "The present Rulers of India, coming from a distance of
many thousand miles to govern a people whose language, literature, manners, customs, and
ideas are almost entirely new and strange to them, cannot easily become so intimately
acquainted with their real circumstances, as the natives of the country are themselves."
No doubt we are now a democracy wherein our leaders are drawn from our own midst.
Moreover, the opinion of the people of India is supposed to matter today. But does it,
really? Aren't our politicians, aided by bureaucrats and technocrats, still "omniscient"
and "omnipotent" for all practical purposes?"We should, therefore, be guilty," continues
Rammohan, "of a gross dereliction of duty to ourselves, and afford our Rulers just ground
of complaint at our apathy, did we omit on occasions of importance like the present to
supply them with such accurate information as might enable them to devise and adopt
measures calculated to be beneficial to the country." That our rulers want to improve the
condition of the populace we must not doubt. That education is the key to such
improvement may also be taken as self-evident. Then what is our duty to the state and
society, especially when the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) recently
notified constitution of the Committee for the draft National Education Policy (NPE)
under Chairmanship of Dr K Kasturirangan?We know that the Modi sarkar, since its
inception in 2014, has been keen to reformulate the NPE, which was promulgated in 1986
and revised in 1992. The consultative process, on for over two years, has, according to
the MHRD website, attracted over 2.75 lakh "direct consultations". But what does that
mean? What kind of stakeholders were consulted and what was the quality of the inputs?
Did this process produce really new or substantive ideas? This is not clearly stated or
known, let alone discussed nationwide.When it comes to higher education, we hear of one
or two radical ideas, for instance the proposed merger of national funding bodies such as
Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Council of Social Science Research
(ICSSR), and Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) into one apex agency like
the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the United States. There was another
news item about MHRD considering the merger of the University Grants Commission and the
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Both these are good ideas, with
possibilities of long-term beneficial outcomes, but their modalities and goals are yet to
be announced. But they have not been publicly discussed or debated.Similarly, what are we
to expect of the new NPE if its key ideas are not subject to discussion and analysis? For
instance, what to do about private universities, including foreign universities, wishing
to set up shop in India? Obversely, how to promote brand India worldwide, unlocking the
potential of successful institutions? We did read about IITs/IIMs allowed to start
campuses abroad, but there isn't much ongoing thinking about how that is to happen. There
are also mixed signals about what to do about vexed and contentious issues such as the
medium of instruction, not just at the school, but also at the college and post-graduate
levels. What about useless degrees/diplomas, outdated curricula, or failed institutions?
How to raise the level of primary education, especially given that the Right to Education
is proving to be disastrous?Most of these questions boil down to how to de-politicise
education and bring back the culture of excellence at all levels. If this were the sole
focus of the NPE it may actually bring about something worthwhile. If we foreground
competence and capacity-building, everything else, including social justice, inclusion,
and regional and religious claims, will fall into place. The message that needs to be
sent out loud and clear is that quality must be paramount, all other considerations
following it. While there may be political compulsions that go against such an emphasis,
this is where the will of the government will be tested.The future of the whole country,
nay civilisation, is at stake, not just of one regime. To ensure minimum standards at the
lower levels and maximum freedom at the higher echelons might be the way forward. The
business of the government is to prevent malpractice, ensure quality, protect the
interests of the citizens, ensure access and opportunity to the deserving — not to
control, over-regulate, stifle, even strangle the creative genius of the Indian people.
The government must facilitate the process of society's capacity to meet its own
educational needs rather than strangle its ability to improvise, invent, and innovate.--
EDUCATE, EMPOWER, ELEVATEProf. Bholanath DuttaFounder & PresidentMTC Global: A Global
Think Tank inHigher Education, ISO 9001: 2008Partner: UN Global Compact I UN Academic
Impactwww.mtcglobal.orgIEmail: president@mtcglobal.orgCell: +91 96323 18178 / +91
9964660759--
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