Nuclear force – Tharoor & controversies
Why do you suppose Shashi Tharoor flies from controversy to controversy? Some of it, I am prepared to concede, has to do with his unfamiliarity with the Indian political idiom. And some of it has to do with the distinction between public statements and private conversations – a distinction that has been increasingly eroded in the era of social media.
From Tharoor’s perspective, when he told a friend on Twitter that he was now travelling cattle class, he was merely using the same idiom he would use in face to face or telephonic conversations with that friend. But once you’re on Twitter, there is no such thing as a private conversation. And if you are a politician, then the laws of Indian politics demand that you restrict yourself to the political idiom. Whatever he does is a part of his public life.
It would be tempting to say that veteran Indian politicians understand the distinction and Tharoor does not. But the truth is that the emergence of social networks and the like is such a new phenomenon that nobody knows how politicians are supposed to behave on social media. For instance, I’m forever being told how irresponsible Omar Abdullah is in his postings on Facebook. Omar is hardly a novice so I don’t think it has that much to do with experience.
Perhaps. But these distinctions are still evolving. Nobody is quite sure what kind of comment is appropriate on which kind of web-based social medium. We’re all groping. And we’re making up the rules as we go along.
But even if you take the line that the Tharoor controversies have been about social media and the political idiom, this explanation falls flat in the case of the latest controversy: Tharoor’s alleged criticism of Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
I saw the offending clip on television and as far as I could see, all that happened was that while summarizing Bhiku Parekh’s arguments, Shashi listed various contributions made to Indian foreign policy by Nehru and Gandhi and referred to the fact that many people (outside of India) believed that they were offering moral commentaries on the state of the world.
There was nothing at all offensive about anything he said. And in any case, as Aravind Adiga points out in Tuesday’s HT, Shashi is a great Nehru fan who has sung his praises for years now.
But, assume, for the purposes of argument, that Tharoor had been critical of Nehru or Gandhi. Would this have been such a terrible thing?
Suppose he had said that Nehru made a mistake by referring the Kashmir issue to the United Nations. Or that Mahatma Gandhi’s emphasis on the village needlessly romanticised an institution that was often based on injustice.
I would have agreed with both those points. So, I suspect, would many Indians. But we would not have treated such remarks as attacks on Nehru or Gandhi. We would have regarded them as reasonable comments on policies judged with the benefit of hindsight.
The worrying thing about the way in which the press has jumped on Shashi is that journos seem to believe that politicians should never ever say anything remotely critical of policies followed by the great Indian leaders of the 20th century.
In Stalinist Russia or Mao Tse Tung’s China or Hitler’s Germany, I could understand this emphasis on regarding great leaders as beyond all criticism. But surely, India is a liberal democracy? We pride ourselves on being a society based on ideas and reason. Why should we expect our politicians to refuse to confront the mistakes of our past?
Consider the experience of Western democracies. It is well known that Winston Churchill is widely regarded as the greatest Conservative Prime Minister of the last 100 years. But no modern-day Conservative leader would have any difficulty in conceding that Churchill was wrong when he said that the British Empire should go on forever and that Indians were not capable of governing themselves.
Or take an American parallel. Ronald Reagan was one of the most venerated (by his own party at least) Republican Presidents of the 20th century. But no Republican leader would get into trouble for suggesting that the financial deregulation Reagan ushered in contributed to the enrichment of Wall Street at the expense of ordinary Americans.
Nobody in the British or American media would be at all surprised if Churchill or Reagan were criticized by members of their party. So why do we in the Indian media expect that all Congress politicians must never ever disagree with the policies of previous Congress politicians? As far as I can tell, the Congress seems less worried by Tharoor’s remarks than the TV channels and newspapers are.
All of this leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the media are now out to ‘get’ Tharoor. By that I don’t mean that there is a sinister campaign to dislodge him from his position or that vested interests have conspired against him.
The way the media work is this: they settle on somebody who seems to be a loose cannon and who appears – at least in the eyes of journos – to be too smug and self-satisfied. Then, they follow such a person night and day, looking for the slightest mistake, blowing every remark out of proportion and willfully distorting innocent comments.
Tharoor is not the first person to meet this fate. Over 20 years ago, exactly the same thing was done to Mani Shankar Aiyar when he was part of Rajiv Gandhi’s PMO. Journos regarded Mani as arrogant and superior. It did not help, of course, that Mani said things like “Journalists are basically people who knew they couldn’t pass the Civil Services exam” or “The English media have no impact; the only reason I bother with them is because journalists come from the same social background.”
Once the media became determined to ‘get’ Mani, it was almost as though he was incapable of doing anything right. Every single thing he said was either blown up or distorted. When Rajiv Gandhi visited the US and journos fought for invitations to the White House banquet, an exasperated Mani finally said to one of them: “Why do you want to go? Do you want to dance with Nancy Reagan?”
This made the headlines. Except in this version of the story, Mani was portrayed as this pimp-like figure, offering journalists the chance to dance with Nancy Reagan.
Mani stood his ground. And eventually the media moved on. I hope Shashi will do the same.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
IMPENDING EDUCATION SYSTEM - A REAL STATE
After the completion of five decades of our existence as a democratic, sovereign republic, it is but appropriate that we look back at the track that we have traversed, take note of our successes and failures in different spheres of our national life, consolidate the gains and correct the mistakes, and march ahead towards a better future. Hence this debate on systemic reforms.
Education the most important domain of our national life. Needless to reiterate that education holds the key to development and progress in every sphere of our existence. From an integrated and synergic viewpoint, educational system constitutes the foundation of the legal, administrative, civic and developmental domains of unfolding India of tomorrow.
Educational reforms is a much debated subject in recent years. But discussion on this theme has been in motion since the pre-independence days. Aware of the fact that the system of education devised by the erstwhile alien rulers was not in consonance with our national goals and aspirations and realising the deleterious effect it had on our young minds, several leaders of the freedom movement initiated efforts to establish nationalist educational institutions. A number of schools and colleges were started to impart education with a nationalist content and approach. The service of these institutions in infusing a spirit of patriotism and national outlook cannot be forgotten.
In post–independent India, several committee and commissions were setup to propose recommendations for change in the educational system. The Radha Krishnan Commission (1948-49) on University Education, the Laxmanaswamy Mudaliyar Committee(1952-53) on Secondary Education, and the Kothari Commission (1964-66) on Education can be mentioned as the more prominent ones in this connection.
>>>>Failure of Implementation<<<<
Notwithstanding the voluminous material that is available in the form of suggestions and recommendations flowing from these committees and commissions, educational reform continues to remain an elusive goal and no significant break through could be achieved in bringing about fundamental changes in the system and making it an effective instrument of national reconstruction. The same incongruous system devised by the erstwhile colonial rulers continued to rule the roost with minor alterations mostly concerning the exterior details. As a result, we find a direction-less drift in the system today. The educational scenario presents an uninspiring and disconcerting picture.
The crisis in education is essentially a crisis of implementation. There is no dearth of ideas or suggestions regarding educational change. But enough effort in putting the ideas into action is lacking. The following facts bear out the truth of this statement:
o In the realm of primary education the goal of universalisation that we set before ourselves as a Constitutional directive has remained a distant dream. Whatever gains were made in terms of enrolment are set at ‘zero’ by the high drop-out. As a result the number of illiterates in the population continues to swell.
o The infra-structural facilities have remained extremely inadequate. It is evident that enough resources were not made available even for providing the basic minimum facilities to the schools. The allocation for education continued to remain far below the recommended 6% of the GDP.
o To Vocationalise of secondary education was accepted as a policy decision. The aim was to see that 25% of the students at the secondary level opt for the vocational stream by the year 1995. The time target was later revised to the year 2000 but even this target was not achieved and the scheme failed to take-off.
o The objective of strengthening higher education is far from being accomplished. Rather, we are witnessing a fast deterioration in the standard of university education. Indian universities, by and large, have failed to function as centres of excellence and vibrant intellectual activity. Dissonant with their sprawling stretch out, their role in widening the horizons of knowledge and providing intellectual leadership to society leaves much to be desired.
Hence, it is time that we make an earnest attempt to identify the causes of failure in achieving the declared objectives and remove such obstacles.
The document Challenge of Education candidly admitted that the objectives of National Education Policy of 1968 could not be achieved to any considerable extent. The failure was attributed mainly to following factors.
o Tardy and haphazard implementation.
o Progressive decline in the allocation of resources,
o Absence of an operational strategy as well as functional instruments.
It is imperative that sufficient care is taken to see that the mistakes are not repeated. The failures of the past must become the guidelines for the future if the reforms are to become a reality.
Therefore any meaningful effort at educational reform needs to concentrate on the following areas:
>>Rebuilding the System on the National Ethos.
The basic flaw in the present system is that it fails to reflect the national ethos adequately. The national spirit which marked the educational efforts during pre-Independence Days was conspicuous by its absence in the post-independence era.
The term ethos is to be understood in its three interpretating aspects:
o Philosophy and concept of education
o National vision and prespective
o Relevance to the national needs
>>Philosophy and concept of education
We inherit a philosophy of education which has come down to us from the days of the Upanishads. Quest for the highest knowledge or the knowledge of the self may be said to be the essence of this philosophy. This quest for highest knowledge should be made to pilot all our educational activities.
The ability to comprehend the basic unity underlying the apparent diversity of the Universe and to grasp the indivisible in the divisible forms of existence is described as the highest form of knowledge ( Bhagwadgita: 18.19). It is this knowledge that enables the individual to rise to a higher spiritual and moral plane. In the present system we find as if information has come to be equated with knowledge, information which serves as a means for immediate material benefits. Divorcing of the pursuit of knowledge from higher spiritual and moral values is a bane of the present system.
The great thinkers and philosophers of our country like Swami Dayananda, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Gandhi have described education as a man-making process. Bringing out the latent sublime qualities within the individual and providing for the all-round development of the personality including the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects should form the goal of education. How to achieve this goal and what inputs are necessary towards this end are subjects of a careful and intense study.
The system of Yoga provides a sound practical method for the holistic development of the individual personality. Yoga means the art of concentration, good health, cheerful attitude, winsome habits and the knowledge of the self, all rolled into one. Similarly Swadhyaya or ‘self learning’ and continuous learning is another important element of the Indian educational ethos. Yoga and Swadhyaya must become the essential ingredients of our educational system.
>>National Vision and Perspective
Inculcating the national feeling and enabling the student to develop a national vision is another important aspect of education. The knowledge of the history, tradition, values and the world view together shape the national vision of the individual. The pupil must be made to understand the basis of our national unity and uniqueness of our culture. Inputs necessary for the learner to imbibe a sense of national pride must be included in the curriculum. If the objective of what is known as the Macaulay System of education was to inject an inferiority complex in the minds of students and create a class of people ‘Indian in colour but European in culture’, the objective of national education should be to develop an army of proud and independent Indians striving to achieve creativity and excellence in all walks of life and making the youth of the country emerge from the portals of the colleges and universities with a spirit of supreme confidence in himself and in his nation with an awareness that he has something to offer to the world must become the goal of our education.
>>Relevance to National Needs
i) It goes without saying that education is to be linked with socio-economic needs of the society. The purpose of education is not to create human robot or to supply skilled manpower to the global market. Instead, education must become an effective instrument of economic development and social change. We are a country with the unique distinction of having enormous resources juxtaposed with abject poverty. We have not been able to harness our resources to raise the living conditions of the common masses because of our inability to attune our educational system towards this end.
ii) Present system of Indian education, which largely focuses on the individual material gains, mostly confines itself to the corporeal aspects. The non-material individual benefits accorded in the intercourse between the teacher and the taught should ultimately reach the community in an integrated fashion. This aspect should be properly addressed at all levels of education.
iii) On the social front, the country is marked by cleavages and dissensions. Practices, old and new, that are incompatible with the demands of a just and humane society, and dominate the social scene. Right kind of education, tuned to the economic and social needs of the society, is the only answer to our socio-economic problems. Education must be able to produce an army of skilled personnel with social sensitivity that will address itself to the problems of the society with a sense of commitment.
>>The Primary Educaton
At the primary level, prevention of dropouts must become a matter of top priority. From this point of view, designing a detailed and in-depth study of the causes of dropout should become the very first step of a long-term planning in this direction. Immediate action should include extending necessary facilities and providing right incentives to the young learners as well as to the teaching fraternity.
>If there is one singular factor, which is of utmost importance in primary education, it is the imparting of education in the mother tongue or the regional language. There must be a firm resolve to implement this without any delay.<
Besides, other measures in this direction should include:
o 2.1 Making the content of education relevant to the needs of day-to-day life. (The curriculum should be indigenous and within the comprehension of both the teacher and the taught)
o 2.2 Effecting suitable changes in the time-table and academic calendar in accordance with the life styles and occupations of the concerned people.
>> undertaking a mass awakening programme to drive home the importance of literacy and education.
>> Making learning an enjoyable and a productive activity.
>> In addition following issues should guide our immediate attention towards the primary education
>> Emphasis on imparting of samskaras.
>> Equipping the schools with the basic infra-structural facilities.
>> An appropriate training to the teacher- not only in respect of reading, writing, arithmetic and core subjects but also on vital issues concerning culture.
>>Secondary Education
The vocational stream must be strengthened. Following ideas may be seriously considered for inclusion in this respect:
o Bridging the gap between the world of knowledge and world of work.
o Inculcating the value of respect for manual work and dignity of labour.
o Connecting the course content and pedagogy with local and regional needs so as to develop an appropriate indigenous technology for ‘development’ and social change.
o Curriculum must be redesigned to provide for a multi-track path to future vocation instead of a uni-track path.
o Development of skills like communication skills, logical skills, comprehension skills, creative skills, information technology, and management skills must get priority over mere book learning.
>>Universities and Higher Education
Universities as centres of learning and research have an important role in expanding the horizons of knowledge and providing intellectual leadership to society. Unfortunately, many of them have become mere examination-conducting bodies today. Steps should be taken to restore the universities to the original role expected of them. A few concrete suggestions for serious debate and consideration are listed below:
o Gradual Dispensing with the system of affiliation.
o Giving a fair trial to the concept of autonomous colleges. Efforts should be made to see that the experiment succeeds.
o Applied and meaningful research that directly addresses to the questions relevant to community’s needs.
o Infra-structural facilities Though we have a large system of higher education with around 240 universities and 9000 colleges, nearly 40% of the colleges are reported to be non-viable. We should not fail to note that the number of students entering into the doorways of colleges and universities is only 6% of the relevant age group. With a large number of them receiving substandard education in ill-equipped colleges, we cannot expect to produce man power capable of meeting the challenges in different fields. Immediate steps need to be taken to improve the conditions of the colleges.
o Feasibility of community system of higher education combining formal and non-formal systems and providing for horizontal and vertical mobility within the academic framework must be examined.
o The new technological revolution particularly in the field of information technology has made a tremendous impact on the field of education at all levels. While it has opened up a world of new opportunities for our young men and women, it has posed serious problems to the system as well. It has brought about a total paradigm shift with regard to the role of the teacher, the method of the pedagogy and the character of the educational institutions. How to adapt the new technology to our needs and conditions without allowing it to damage our values and identity is also a matter which deserves serious consideration.
o One of the negative impacts of the invasion of new technology is the relegation of the basic sciences and humanities to the background. Both of them have great significance from the point of view of original research in different spheres of knowledge a well as from the point of view of quality of social and cultural life. Care should be taken to protect and promote these disciplines in a meaningful way.
o Higher education is of crucial importance for the developmental process. Strengthening the system is the need of the hour. Government has a major role to play in supporting and strengthening the system of higher education. The argument that higher education is getting a greater share at the cost of primary education has little justification. Each has its own importance. Primary education must get all the due attention; but neglecting higher education would be disastrous.
>>Commercialisation of Education
Private agencies do have an important role in the field of education. However. leaving the field open the market forces in the name of privatisation is a self-defeating proposition. Commercialisation will not only denude education of all the noble values and ideals associated with it, it will also lead to widening the gap of social disparity. Therefore, commercialisation of education needs to be curbed in the larger interest of education.
>>Financing of Education
Expenditure on education is an investment for the future. Educational targets cannot be achieved unless sufficient funds are made available. Determined and time-bound efforts will have to be made to move towards reaching the target of 6% of the GDP on education. While the non-government efforts can play a supporting role in this behalf, the major responsibility inevitably rests with the government.
>>Examination System
should be thoroughly revised to make it a comprehensive system of evaluating the abilities and achievements of the students. It should cease to be a fault-finding and mechanical exercise.
>>Teacher-Training at all levels needs to be seriously considered for reformation. It is important that the teacher is equipped and motivated for the central role that he/she is expected to play in a meaningful educational system.
>>Minority Institutions
Special educational rights to the minorities must be properly defined so as to prevent such educational institutions from becoming insulated entities leading to a duality in the system. Interrelationship between autonomy and government monitoring of such minority-managed educational institutions should be clearly defined.The duality between private and the state-owned educational institutions must also be debated within the broad perspective of national culture and national spirit.
>>The need for an Independent Agency
The need for an independent and autonomous agency on the lines of Judiciary or Election Commission which will guide, co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of educational policies, and has been voiced by several organizations and educational experts for a long time. This agency shall also be responsible for assessing and auditing the performance of educational institutions at all levels in the country. Creation of such an agency will be a major step in the direction of educational reforms.
>>>>Conclusion<<<<
The purpose of this paper is not to provide any detailed plan of educational reform. There are so many reports and recommendations submitted by very eminent educationists that it is indeed difficult to add anything new. What is attempted here is only to indicate some important areas where immediate action is needed. It is hoped that a wider debate on these issues will provide the necessary road map for future policy and concrete action. As it was correctly pointed out in the introduction to the Kothari Commission Report, ‘no report, however good, can be a substitute for action’. It is hoped that this occasion of introspection will also turn out to be a starting point for appropriate action.
Education the most important domain of our national life. Needless to reiterate that education holds the key to development and progress in every sphere of our existence. From an integrated and synergic viewpoint, educational system constitutes the foundation of the legal, administrative, civic and developmental domains of unfolding India of tomorrow.
Educational reforms is a much debated subject in recent years. But discussion on this theme has been in motion since the pre-independence days. Aware of the fact that the system of education devised by the erstwhile alien rulers was not in consonance with our national goals and aspirations and realising the deleterious effect it had on our young minds, several leaders of the freedom movement initiated efforts to establish nationalist educational institutions. A number of schools and colleges were started to impart education with a nationalist content and approach. The service of these institutions in infusing a spirit of patriotism and national outlook cannot be forgotten.
In post–independent India, several committee and commissions were setup to propose recommendations for change in the educational system. The Radha Krishnan Commission (1948-49) on University Education, the Laxmanaswamy Mudaliyar Committee(1952-53) on Secondary Education, and the Kothari Commission (1964-66) on Education can be mentioned as the more prominent ones in this connection.
>>>>Failure of Implementation<<<<
Notwithstanding the voluminous material that is available in the form of suggestions and recommendations flowing from these committees and commissions, educational reform continues to remain an elusive goal and no significant break through could be achieved in bringing about fundamental changes in the system and making it an effective instrument of national reconstruction. The same incongruous system devised by the erstwhile colonial rulers continued to rule the roost with minor alterations mostly concerning the exterior details. As a result, we find a direction-less drift in the system today. The educational scenario presents an uninspiring and disconcerting picture.
The crisis in education is essentially a crisis of implementation. There is no dearth of ideas or suggestions regarding educational change. But enough effort in putting the ideas into action is lacking. The following facts bear out the truth of this statement:
o In the realm of primary education the goal of universalisation that we set before ourselves as a Constitutional directive has remained a distant dream. Whatever gains were made in terms of enrolment are set at ‘zero’ by the high drop-out. As a result the number of illiterates in the population continues to swell.
o The infra-structural facilities have remained extremely inadequate. It is evident that enough resources were not made available even for providing the basic minimum facilities to the schools. The allocation for education continued to remain far below the recommended 6% of the GDP.
o To Vocationalise of secondary education was accepted as a policy decision. The aim was to see that 25% of the students at the secondary level opt for the vocational stream by the year 1995. The time target was later revised to the year 2000 but even this target was not achieved and the scheme failed to take-off.
o The objective of strengthening higher education is far from being accomplished. Rather, we are witnessing a fast deterioration in the standard of university education. Indian universities, by and large, have failed to function as centres of excellence and vibrant intellectual activity. Dissonant with their sprawling stretch out, their role in widening the horizons of knowledge and providing intellectual leadership to society leaves much to be desired.
Hence, it is time that we make an earnest attempt to identify the causes of failure in achieving the declared objectives and remove such obstacles.
The document Challenge of Education candidly admitted that the objectives of National Education Policy of 1968 could not be achieved to any considerable extent. The failure was attributed mainly to following factors.
o Tardy and haphazard implementation.
o Progressive decline in the allocation of resources,
o Absence of an operational strategy as well as functional instruments.
It is imperative that sufficient care is taken to see that the mistakes are not repeated. The failures of the past must become the guidelines for the future if the reforms are to become a reality.
Therefore any meaningful effort at educational reform needs to concentrate on the following areas:
>>Rebuilding the System on the National Ethos.
The basic flaw in the present system is that it fails to reflect the national ethos adequately. The national spirit which marked the educational efforts during pre-Independence Days was conspicuous by its absence in the post-independence era.
The term ethos is to be understood in its three interpretating aspects:
o Philosophy and concept of education
o National vision and prespective
o Relevance to the national needs
>>Philosophy and concept of education
We inherit a philosophy of education which has come down to us from the days of the Upanishads. Quest for the highest knowledge or the knowledge of the self may be said to be the essence of this philosophy. This quest for highest knowledge should be made to pilot all our educational activities.
The ability to comprehend the basic unity underlying the apparent diversity of the Universe and to grasp the indivisible in the divisible forms of existence is described as the highest form of knowledge ( Bhagwadgita: 18.19). It is this knowledge that enables the individual to rise to a higher spiritual and moral plane. In the present system we find as if information has come to be equated with knowledge, information which serves as a means for immediate material benefits. Divorcing of the pursuit of knowledge from higher spiritual and moral values is a bane of the present system.
The great thinkers and philosophers of our country like Swami Dayananda, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Gandhi have described education as a man-making process. Bringing out the latent sublime qualities within the individual and providing for the all-round development of the personality including the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects should form the goal of education. How to achieve this goal and what inputs are necessary towards this end are subjects of a careful and intense study.
The system of Yoga provides a sound practical method for the holistic development of the individual personality. Yoga means the art of concentration, good health, cheerful attitude, winsome habits and the knowledge of the self, all rolled into one. Similarly Swadhyaya or ‘self learning’ and continuous learning is another important element of the Indian educational ethos. Yoga and Swadhyaya must become the essential ingredients of our educational system.
>>National Vision and Perspective
Inculcating the national feeling and enabling the student to develop a national vision is another important aspect of education. The knowledge of the history, tradition, values and the world view together shape the national vision of the individual. The pupil must be made to understand the basis of our national unity and uniqueness of our culture. Inputs necessary for the learner to imbibe a sense of national pride must be included in the curriculum. If the objective of what is known as the Macaulay System of education was to inject an inferiority complex in the minds of students and create a class of people ‘Indian in colour but European in culture’, the objective of national education should be to develop an army of proud and independent Indians striving to achieve creativity and excellence in all walks of life and making the youth of the country emerge from the portals of the colleges and universities with a spirit of supreme confidence in himself and in his nation with an awareness that he has something to offer to the world must become the goal of our education.
>>Relevance to National Needs
i) It goes without saying that education is to be linked with socio-economic needs of the society. The purpose of education is not to create human robot or to supply skilled manpower to the global market. Instead, education must become an effective instrument of economic development and social change. We are a country with the unique distinction of having enormous resources juxtaposed with abject poverty. We have not been able to harness our resources to raise the living conditions of the common masses because of our inability to attune our educational system towards this end.
ii) Present system of Indian education, which largely focuses on the individual material gains, mostly confines itself to the corporeal aspects. The non-material individual benefits accorded in the intercourse between the teacher and the taught should ultimately reach the community in an integrated fashion. This aspect should be properly addressed at all levels of education.
iii) On the social front, the country is marked by cleavages and dissensions. Practices, old and new, that are incompatible with the demands of a just and humane society, and dominate the social scene. Right kind of education, tuned to the economic and social needs of the society, is the only answer to our socio-economic problems. Education must be able to produce an army of skilled personnel with social sensitivity that will address itself to the problems of the society with a sense of commitment.
>>The Primary Educaton
At the primary level, prevention of dropouts must become a matter of top priority. From this point of view, designing a detailed and in-depth study of the causes of dropout should become the very first step of a long-term planning in this direction. Immediate action should include extending necessary facilities and providing right incentives to the young learners as well as to the teaching fraternity.
>If there is one singular factor, which is of utmost importance in primary education, it is the imparting of education in the mother tongue or the regional language. There must be a firm resolve to implement this without any delay.<
Besides, other measures in this direction should include:
o 2.1 Making the content of education relevant to the needs of day-to-day life. (The curriculum should be indigenous and within the comprehension of both the teacher and the taught)
o 2.2 Effecting suitable changes in the time-table and academic calendar in accordance with the life styles and occupations of the concerned people.
>> undertaking a mass awakening programme to drive home the importance of literacy and education.
>> Making learning an enjoyable and a productive activity.
>> In addition following issues should guide our immediate attention towards the primary education
>> Emphasis on imparting of samskaras.
>> Equipping the schools with the basic infra-structural facilities.
>> An appropriate training to the teacher- not only in respect of reading, writing, arithmetic and core subjects but also on vital issues concerning culture.
>>Secondary Education
The vocational stream must be strengthened. Following ideas may be seriously considered for inclusion in this respect:
o Bridging the gap between the world of knowledge and world of work.
o Inculcating the value of respect for manual work and dignity of labour.
o Connecting the course content and pedagogy with local and regional needs so as to develop an appropriate indigenous technology for ‘development’ and social change.
o Curriculum must be redesigned to provide for a multi-track path to future vocation instead of a uni-track path.
o Development of skills like communication skills, logical skills, comprehension skills, creative skills, information technology, and management skills must get priority over mere book learning.
>>Universities and Higher Education
Universities as centres of learning and research have an important role in expanding the horizons of knowledge and providing intellectual leadership to society. Unfortunately, many of them have become mere examination-conducting bodies today. Steps should be taken to restore the universities to the original role expected of them. A few concrete suggestions for serious debate and consideration are listed below:
o Gradual Dispensing with the system of affiliation.
o Giving a fair trial to the concept of autonomous colleges. Efforts should be made to see that the experiment succeeds.
o Applied and meaningful research that directly addresses to the questions relevant to community’s needs.
o Infra-structural facilities Though we have a large system of higher education with around 240 universities and 9000 colleges, nearly 40% of the colleges are reported to be non-viable. We should not fail to note that the number of students entering into the doorways of colleges and universities is only 6% of the relevant age group. With a large number of them receiving substandard education in ill-equipped colleges, we cannot expect to produce man power capable of meeting the challenges in different fields. Immediate steps need to be taken to improve the conditions of the colleges.
o Feasibility of community system of higher education combining formal and non-formal systems and providing for horizontal and vertical mobility within the academic framework must be examined.
o The new technological revolution particularly in the field of information technology has made a tremendous impact on the field of education at all levels. While it has opened up a world of new opportunities for our young men and women, it has posed serious problems to the system as well. It has brought about a total paradigm shift with regard to the role of the teacher, the method of the pedagogy and the character of the educational institutions. How to adapt the new technology to our needs and conditions without allowing it to damage our values and identity is also a matter which deserves serious consideration.
o One of the negative impacts of the invasion of new technology is the relegation of the basic sciences and humanities to the background. Both of them have great significance from the point of view of original research in different spheres of knowledge a well as from the point of view of quality of social and cultural life. Care should be taken to protect and promote these disciplines in a meaningful way.
o Higher education is of crucial importance for the developmental process. Strengthening the system is the need of the hour. Government has a major role to play in supporting and strengthening the system of higher education. The argument that higher education is getting a greater share at the cost of primary education has little justification. Each has its own importance. Primary education must get all the due attention; but neglecting higher education would be disastrous.
>>Commercialisation of Education
Private agencies do have an important role in the field of education. However. leaving the field open the market forces in the name of privatisation is a self-defeating proposition. Commercialisation will not only denude education of all the noble values and ideals associated with it, it will also lead to widening the gap of social disparity. Therefore, commercialisation of education needs to be curbed in the larger interest of education.
>>Financing of Education
Expenditure on education is an investment for the future. Educational targets cannot be achieved unless sufficient funds are made available. Determined and time-bound efforts will have to be made to move towards reaching the target of 6% of the GDP on education. While the non-government efforts can play a supporting role in this behalf, the major responsibility inevitably rests with the government.
>>Examination System
should be thoroughly revised to make it a comprehensive system of evaluating the abilities and achievements of the students. It should cease to be a fault-finding and mechanical exercise.
>>Teacher-Training at all levels needs to be seriously considered for reformation. It is important that the teacher is equipped and motivated for the central role that he/she is expected to play in a meaningful educational system.
>>Minority Institutions
Special educational rights to the minorities must be properly defined so as to prevent such educational institutions from becoming insulated entities leading to a duality in the system. Interrelationship between autonomy and government monitoring of such minority-managed educational institutions should be clearly defined.The duality between private and the state-owned educational institutions must also be debated within the broad perspective of national culture and national spirit.
>>The need for an Independent Agency
The need for an independent and autonomous agency on the lines of Judiciary or Election Commission which will guide, co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of educational policies, and has been voiced by several organizations and educational experts for a long time. This agency shall also be responsible for assessing and auditing the performance of educational institutions at all levels in the country. Creation of such an agency will be a major step in the direction of educational reforms.
>>>>Conclusion<<<<
The purpose of this paper is not to provide any detailed plan of educational reform. There are so many reports and recommendations submitted by very eminent educationists that it is indeed difficult to add anything new. What is attempted here is only to indicate some important areas where immediate action is needed. It is hoped that a wider debate on these issues will provide the necessary road map for future policy and concrete action. As it was correctly pointed out in the introduction to the Kothari Commission Report, ‘no report, however good, can be a substitute for action’. It is hoped that this occasion of introspection will also turn out to be a starting point for appropriate action.
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