The Indian educational system and policies are at the crossroads. Its liberal, secular, democratic, beneficial and pro-public character and content, somehow nourished during the last 50-60 years despite several vicissitudes, are now undergoing fundamental and drastic transformations. On one hand Central government is all set to corporatise the higher education by giving green signal to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in higher education and on the other spoiling the school education in the name of combating AIDS and giving so-called scientific, clear and complete knowledge about sex.
Besides, cases of “saffronisation of education” by some state governments and destandardisation of education are also coming to notice. Moreover, Education for all, Value education, Educational rights of minorities, Social justice through education, Common school system are yet to be implemented after long years of independence.
CORPORATISATION OF EDUCATION
The government of India seems to have made up its mind to allow FDI in higher education. A group of ministers have cleared a proposal of foreign service providers and a bill is expected to be presented shortly. A short while ago, the Ministry of Commerce had released a consultation paper with stated purpose of initiating discussions on the issue of allowing FDI in education. What is more disturbing is that the decision to allow FDI has been taken on the basis of a consultation paper which is marked by shoddy arguments, perverse logic and forced conclusion. Indeed, a careful reading of it leads to the conclusion that there is no need for allowing FDI in higher education. The principal arguments to allow FDI in higher education have been built around compulsion of the prevailing financial position. According to it, higher education will require Rs.20,000 to 25,000 crore over the next five or more years to expand capacity and improve access.
For such a huge amount, the paper argues, we can only opt for FDI. But is this really a huge amount for a country that spends 2-3 times more on Defence? The budgetary allocation on Defence for 2006-07 is 56748.22 crore which is almost double of the budgetary allocation on education (Rs. 24906.23 crore). Actually it is a matter of priorities and not of financial compulsion. Allowing FDI in higher education means snatching the right of higher education from poor and marginalised sections of society. This will have a very negative impact on the socio-economic and educational development of the country. It may also lead to frustration in youth (especially belonging to poor and marginalised sections) and they may be compelled to indulge in criminal, violent and un-lawful activities.
SAFFRONISATION OF EDUCATION
The BJP has been actively pursuing the RSS agenda on education and culture front. In doing so it has undermined the credibility of our academic institutions, suppressed the freedom of expression, trampled on the democratic and fundamental rights of the religions minorities and transformed in a big way the contents of school textbooks in the BJP ruled states. Millions of school children are growing up with prejudice and hatred towards the minorities, and with total ignorance of our rich and composite culture and heritage. Enormous funds of government are being pumped into implementing the Hindutva agenda. One of the recent examples is return of the right wing (RSS) text for Rajasthan school syllabus prepared by Rajasthan Madhyamik Shiksha Board, Ajmer . One needs to recall that these books are result of the decision of the Rajasthan government to reject the new National Curriculum Framework-2005 for school education evolved by NCERT. All BJP-ruled as well as NDA-led governments had declared that they would prepare their own textbooks as the books prepared by NCERT were biased. It would be interesting to see, as to how they fight out bias of the NCERT books. In the book prepared by Rajasthan government for Class X students seeks to introduce the basics of Indian culture; our culture is known as Arya Sanskriti, Bhartiya Sanskriti and Hindu Sanskriti. What happens to the non-Aryans and non-Hindus then? The book doesn’t forget them (non-Aryans and non-Hindus) and considers them Sumudaya Vishesh (read Muslims and Christians) and Vanya Jatis (read Adivasis or Tribals). Three-fourths of the book is full of description of Hindu gods, goddesses, religions festivals and places of pilgrimages, etc. Class VII social science book seems to be the history of RSS activists and tries to include the ideas and slogans, famous in RSS shakhas (units.) In fact, the book violates the basic Constitutional principles and can’t be allowed to continue in the syllabus. Moreover, it is not only the case of Rajasthan but other BJP-ruled states also that are trying their best for the return of Hindutva textbooks, which equate Indianness with the Hindu identity and rejects minorities and other communities.
DE-STANDARDISATION OF EDUCATION
The issue of providing quality education with equal opportunities is still a dream even after 60 years of Independence . The standard of education in government schools and colleges is going down day by day. Despite 61 per cent literacy and 83 per cent children enrolled in schools, a majority of them do not have basic knowledge like reading, writing or arithmetic calculation, etc. Even the government provides poor quality of education for the children of marginalised and middle-lower class people. The sin of educational neglect has been compounded by para-teacher schools – “schools run by one single teacher” (usually under-qualified and underpaid) without basic facilities / infrastructure or less than minimum facilities. Issues like child-centred education, improvement of curriculum, emphasis on learning or inculcation of values mean little in this dysfunctional or sub-standard education. The most recent data released by government of India tells a strolling story.
According to National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA)’s survey report conducted along with Ministry of HRD, GOI throughout 35 states covering 400 districts reveals that 9,503 Primary schools are without teachers. Another 1,22,355 have only one teacher and on an average India has 4-19 teachers in schools. The recent recruitment of school teachers in Bihar and Punjab on the basis of so-called merit (marks) would also increase the problem. The most disturbing fact is that, it prevails almost everywhere in India . Cities like Delhi and Mumbai and prosperous states like Punjab and Haryana is no exception in this case. Basically, no government bothers to provide quality education. They only want to provide education which can only make “educated illiterates” and leads to frustration.
In fact, the problems mentioned above present only a bird’s-eye view of Indian educational policies and system and it is the outcome of the impact of neo-imperialism, euphemistically called globalisation. The corporatisation of education, particularly the withdrawal of state from higher education and to allow FDI is happening on the direction of World Bank, IMF and WTO. Destandardisation is also the result of government negligence in effecting equal rights of qualitative education for all. The solution perhaps lies in the re-definition of state responsibilities towards education and it can be done only through pressure politics i.e. strong and disciplined mass movement against Corporatisation, Destandardisation and Saffronisation of education.
[The writer is the Convener of Students Affairs Cell, SIO Delhi and can be reached at [email protected]]