What is the purpose of education?

To create a workforce? To create skilled manpower? To respond to the needs of a service based industry?

Or is the purpose of education to create individuals who can make informed life choices? To create citizens who can effectively and meaningfully participate in the process self-actualization and in the process lead to the development of the country? Women and men who understand the realities of the world and have the capabilities to engage in debates pertaining to their lives?

It is perfectly in order to desire for well-paid jobs- it is the right of every individual. But somehow, education, especially higher education in India has come to mean only technical education, bereft of developing skills of critical thinking. On one hand, we have social sciences education (except for in a few institutions that exist as few islands of excellence) that is largely unimaginative, insipid and uninspiring. In a situation where we have a plethora of social problems, the social science education does not prepare the student to even being to make sense of the world around them. On the other hand, we have technical education that has grown exponentially in the last few.

The result is a hotchpotch – a total mismatch- a poor quality technical education that caters to more to middle class aspiration than to the need of the industry for skilled people- and a weak social science education that exists largely as a refuge for ‘left over’ students who do not manage to get admission to any technical course.

Given this situation, don’t we need some thinking through? What do we mean when we talk about a knowledge economy? What kind of individuals do we want to create for tomorrow? What skills and traits do we want to see in them? Unless, we are clear on these, words like ‘knowledge economy’ would remain as empty rhetoric.

For more of such discussions visit http://www.csopartners.org.in/blog

- Ipsita Basu

It is a proud moment for India- it has been saved a major embarrassment-The United Kingdom has stated that it does not propose to investigate the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program for alleged corruption vis-à-vis the grants provided by the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID). There were reports in the British media that the funds given for the flagship programme were being misused. The controversy started following an article, published in the News of the World last month that leveled serious charges against the SSA and in respect of utilization of U.K. assistance. India refuted the charges, saying expenditure was incurred in keeping with well-defined norms articulated in the SSA Framework for implementation and the Manual of Financial Management and Procurement (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article538703.ece).

Well, the question is – what is the BIGGER picture? The DFID provides only two per cent of the total expenditure on the SSA. It is taxpayers money that goes into funding the massive program. More than that it is one of the most fundamental program that invests in education and this in a major way determines the future of its children and the nation as a whole. How can we, as a nation, be indifferent to the performance of the program?

For more of such discussions visit http://www.csopartners.org.in/blog

- Ipsita Basu

The recent decision to link Unique Identification Number with identifying drop outs and bringing them back in school is a positive step. However, it is important to understand why children drop out, in the first place. Unless we do that, we would still be dealing with the symptoms of the problem rather than getting at the root of it and addressing the same.

In terms of access to education, especially for the poor in the rural areas, there is almost a pattern: first there are no schools, then there are buildings called schools where the teachers regularly fail to turn up, then teachers are overwhelmed with over crowded classrooms. This is followed up by some training that the teachers try to implement in the classrooms…sometimes failing, sometimes working….

From the children’s perspective, they are sent to school by parents who want them to have a better life and better opportunities. However, the children, many of whom are first generation learners fail to relate to the curriculum. Private tuition are unaffordable for most. There are pressures at home. Many children drop out. Persevering parents continue against all odds… For how long would we hear the same story? We have heard it so many times in the past? Where does the buck stop? Who is accountable? Are there any timelines? Who would answer?

More seriously, is anybody asking? For further such discussions, click here

-Ipsita Basu

One of the unfulfilled promises of the year 2009 has been the government’s move to review the functioning of deemed universities. Deemed University is colloquial term being used for informal education system that exist outside UGC approved formal education system promoted by the private limited education institutes with financial and operational autonomy.

There are 130 deemed universities in the country, including around 100 in private sector. There are allegations that many undeserving institutions have got the status in the past few years.

The deemed university status enables not just full autonomy in setting course work and syllabus of those institutes and research centers, but also allows it to set its own guidelines for the admissions, fees, and instructions to the students. The parent universities of these deemed universities cannot control its administration, though the degrees of deemed universities are awarded by the parent universities.

While the autonomy enjoyed is meant to enhance the quality of education and reduce interference in education, this has unfortunately opened a new way for corruption in many cases. This has not only robbed students of money through high course fees but also of good quality education. In order to make the system of having deemed university work, it is important to have robust accreditation system. Unfortunately, with corruption charges against the top bosses of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) including the chairman, Member Secretary, Regional Officer and Deputy Director- it is needless to talk about the efficacy of the system.

Can the system of deemed University work? Yes and it is extremely relevant in case of countries like India with high youth population. However, to make it work- there is lot of work to do- to begin with- get done with corruption

For more of such discussions visit http://www.csopartners.org.in/blog

- Ipsita Basu

 Year end is always the time to look back. In terms of education, 2009 has been quite an eventful year with many changes in the way system worked. According to the government, the educational reforms propose a new roadmap aiming at transforming the country’s demographic dividend into a growth propeller with a host of policy and legislative initiatives with focus on access, equity and quality.

The most important was the passage of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, which was pending for many years. The landmark Act provides for free and compulsory education as a fundamental right of children in the 6-14 age group. The Act also provides for earmarking 25 per cent seats for weaker sections in schools and seeks to do away with the practice of schools taking capitation fees before admission and subjecting the child or parents to any screening procedure. In a recent amendment the right has been broadened to include the children with disabilities.

One of the most debated was of course the school educational reform process that started with a major announcement of the government to abolish compulsory CBSE Board exams for Class X from 2010-11 session and introduction of grading system from current year. The step was taken to reduce the examination stress of students. The CBSE also initiated a “continuous, comprehensive evaluation” which will assess the students’ performance on a continuous basis.

In Higher education, there is a decision to create a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as an overarching body in higher education. The proposed NCHER will replace UGC, AICTE, DCE and NCTE. Besides, it has prepared a separate bill for setting up of educational tribunals. In steps to expand the technical education, the government approved setting up of six new IIMs. It also asked the IITs and IIMs to prepare their future vision plan for expansion and quality of technical education in the country.

These are all very important given that the education system needs a total overhaul across all levels, starting from the primary and ending in higher educational levels. In this context it is also important for the government to work with groups that are already working on the issue. A case in point is the recently released report of the Pratichi Trust in West Bengal that deals with the problems in Primary Education and based on its comprehensive study calls for fundamental changes in the curriculum and abolishing homework as a first step towards addressing equity and quality issues in education.

It is also now the time to focus on implementation. Promises and commitments are good first steps. However, these are meaningful only when they are amenable to implementation. Unfortunately, we are not particularly strong on that front.

What are the most important changes required in order to make the Indian Education system work?

For further such discussion visit us at http://www.csopartners.org.in

-Ipsita Basu