National Education Policy 2016
Policy Consultation
on Higher Education - adequately reflect the current concerns
regarding education including higher education, the unfulfilled goals of the
1986 Policy and the reasons for formulating a new Policy.
The goals of
education – to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values keeping in mind
the issues of Access, Equity and Quality have been spelt out.
In general anything
that needs to be said or considered while formulating the Policy finds mention
at least somewhere in the documents circulated.
The following comments / suggestions are made for consideration of the
Policy Formulating Committee:
While access and
equity are pivotal issues considering our socio-economic and have rightly been
highlighted separately, if we have to survive, leave aside compete, in the
globalising economy Excellence needs unequivocal emphasis (much more than
indicated in the documents circulated).
Similarly, affordability of quality education requires serious
attention.
21st
Century will increasingly become a knowledge based society (and economy) with
rapid advances to completive knowledge generation and utilization. We cannot live on borrowed knowledge.
Our survival as a
respectable nation will not just require knowledge acquisition, but even more
so knowledge generation in internationally competitive basis.
For this to happen
the standard of education at all levels – needs radical changes and mechanisms
to implement these.
Rote learning, an
unfortunate cultural heritage, needs to be replaced by enquiry based learning
using modern learning tools.
This would require an
altogether different type of teachers and appropriate learning facilities and
environment beginning at the school level.
There is no doubt –
need to enhance the number of educational institutions at all levels, to meet
the growing demands, we do not need more of the same but more of a different
kind.
There are already
examples of such institutions at all levels in the country – Kendriya
Vidyalayas, some private schools and colleges, IISc, IITs, IIMS, AIIMS, but an
empowered group could scout around the world for this purpose,
Similarly a careful
study is necessary to find reasons why no Indian University is ranked among the
top 100.
A National Policy
should, no doubt, benefit the largest numbers to the maximum and hence concerns
about equity and inclusiveness are but natural, as is obvious from the draft
document. However, there has to be a scope for the highly talented, relatively
much fewer, to achieve their full potentials, serve as a role model and be
internationally competitive.
Mention has been made
repeatedly to safeguard the interest of those left behind for historical
reasons, yet there is a growing middle-income group which is finding it
difficult to find the desired opportunities for progress. The rich can go to
private costly institutions or go abroad, those historically left behind can
benefit from reservations, a large number of bright students from middle-income
group find most doors closed. A policy for future should find some solution for
this group already in fairly large numbers.
A study is necessary
to ascertain why thousands of our bright students go abroad for higher
education – not only for the advanced countries of the West bust the China,
Russia, Singapore etc.,
Mention has been made
of growing commercialization of education, but the policy to rectify this is
not obvious.
Merit based
transparent selection process of teachers find mention but being aware of
current scenario, it requires a determined political will and unimpeachable
administrative machinery. Easy said than done!
Promoting research
environment in our Universities and professional Institutions an absolute
necessary for creating an internationally competitive society requires a
cultural change never an easy task. Hence a well thought of policy and action
plan is required. Mere mention of it in a Policy document is unlikely to
succeed.
For any ambitious
policy like the New Education Policy to succeed would require financial
commitment of a high order. The earlier Natural Policies of 1968 and 1986/92
had recommended 6% of the GDP as the norm for the national outlay on education.
However for from enhancing it to meet the newer challenges it has hovered
around 3.5% currently.
