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YOJANA September 2009 1

C O N T E N T S

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September 2009 Vol 53

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IMPERATIVES FOR BUILDING A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY ......................................................................................... 5 Sam Pitroda

MANAGEMENT OF UNIVERSITIES........................................... 8 Yash Pal

ALIGNING HIGHER EDUCATION WITH THE ...................... 11 LABOUR MARKET Pawan Agarwal

ONE GOOD ExAMPLE IS WORTH A THOUSAND THEORIES .................................................................................... 15 Rina Ray

SHODH YATRA IT IS RAINING UMBRELLAS THIS MONSOON ................................................................................... 19

MAKING SECONDARY EDUCATION MORE RELEVANT ....... 21 B K Saha

IN THE NEwS ........................................................................... 24

CHALLENGES BEFORE EDUCATION IN INDIA ................25 Shashank Chaturvedi

J&K wINDOw ......................................................................31

GENDER DISPARITY IN EDUCATION ................................32 Anupam Hazra

NORTH EAST DIARY ..........................................................36

INDIA’S CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AND NALANDA .........37 Parama Sinha Palit

BEST PRACTICES GRAM SABHA IN MANIYA VILLAGE..................................................................40 Awanish Somkuwar

ADULT EDUCATION...............................................................42 Promila Yadava

DO YOu KNOw? ..................................................................45

THE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT TEACHER ................48 S Chandrasekar Krishna Priya

BOOK REVIEw HIGHER EDUCATION – UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUES ...........................................51

2 YOJANA September 2009

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About the Issue

"Inclusion" is the growth mantra for policy-makers today - not just in India, but the world over. And for inclusive growth, what could be a more crucial input than education for all ? Good, wholesome education empowers

one, opens up opportunities for individual and group entitlements, productive employment and participation in various arenas of social life. In all, education ignites social change and catalyzes economic growth. While the world community recognizes education for all as an important Millenium Development Goal, and the G-8 nations say that investment in the sector is crucial for sustainable recovery from the present economic crisis, India is actively pushing forward with its agenda for revamping and restructuring education in the country. And there is certainly a lot that needs to be revamped and restructured.The number of schools across the country have grown, enrolment rates have also risen significantly over the years, thanks to schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Midday Meal Scheme, yet we are far from our goal of providing universal elementary education. School education is plagued by poor infrastructure, shortage of teachers and their low levels of training and motivation, disparities on social, regional and gender levels in the rate of enrolment and continuance in schools, and poverty and livelihood issues that keep children away from studies. Higher education has its own issues to contend with. From making available adequate number of colleges and universities including technical and vocational institutions, ensuring quality of education, promoting the spirit of quest, to working out meaningful curricula aligned with the job market, policy makers in the area have their hands absolutely full. The entire education sector is expectedly buzzing with activity. The landmark legislation giving every child the fundamental right to free and compulsory elementary education is just one step towards setting right what is wrong with the sector. The emphasis on education in the Eleventh Plan, the setting up of the Knowledge Commission and the Commission to Advise on Revamping and Rejuvenating Higher Education have all helped to crystallize the issues relating to education that need to be addressed urgently, and have suggested ways of addressing them. The HRD Ministry has several initiatives lined up, which they intend to take during the first hundred days of the new government. An agenda that may appear ambitious, but certainly reflects the earnest commitment of the government. While there is a lot that the government needs to do to provide quality education to its people, an equal responsibility rests with society to do its bit. Besides a large number of NGOs working to provide education to the poor, several corporate houses are also taking up similar work. Every now and then we hear of young people giving up lucrative corporate careers to take on the responsibility of teaching the needy. This growing social consciousness needs to be promoted and sustained. If India, with its predominantly young population, wants to reap demographic dividends, we need to work really fast. q


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Imperatives for Building a Knowledge Society

EDuCaTION

S I N D I A m a r c h e s towards an exciting new future of growth and progress, knowledge will play a pivotal role in

crafting a sustained development agenda. The idea of creating a knowledge society is no longer a debatable luxury, its significance has been grasped by policy shapers worldwide. In India this idea has become even more crucial in view of the three critical challenges of demography, disparity and development facing our country. Our unique demographic dividend, with 550 million below the age of 25, is a tremendous human resource. This incredible pool of human resource needs to be harnessed with a focused education and skill development agenda to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

A

The author is Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission.

It is only by

challenging our rigid

systems and adapting them to new realities

that we can create a

knowledge society

Sam Pitroda

The vast disparity in the country today is a result of skewed access to knowledge. To address this, we need a substantial expansion in educational opportunities, with a special emphasis on inclusion so that nobody is left out of the system. Finally, to accelerate the course of development in the country, efforts have to be undertaken to create an educational system that nourishes innovation, entrepreneurship and addresses the skill requirements of a growing economy.

The idea of what goes into building a knowledge society was deliberated at the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), a high level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, which was entrusted with the task of preparing a blueprint of reform

OVERVIEW


of the country’s knowledge institutions and infrastructure. The Commiss ion submit ted around 300 recommendations on 27 focus areas covering a range of sectors of the knowledge paradigm.

The Commission looked at knowledge from the five aspects of: improving access to knowledge; r e inv igo ra t i ng i n s t i t u t i ons where knowledge concepts are imparted; developing world class academic environments for creation of knowledge; promoting applications of knowledge for sustained and inclusive growth; and encouraging knowledge a p p l i c a t i o n s i n e f f i c i e n t delivery of public services. The Commission felt that adoption and implementation of this human capital development strategy will place India firmly on the path of sustainable development.

At the bottom of the knowledge pyramid we have to improve access to good quality school education to create the right foundation for a knowledge society. Currently, a significant proportion of children in India remains out of the school system or drops out at an early age. Further, according to an ASER study on quality in the Indian school education system, 38 percent of the children who have completed four years of

schooling cannot read a small paragraph with short sentences meant to be read by a student of class II. About 55 percent of such children cannot divide a three digit number by a one digit number. These are indicators of how bad things might be in the learning of other school subjects. To enhance access to quality elementary education and improve quality, we at NKC have proposed recommendations on enacting the Right to Education Bill and generational changes in the school system with emphasis on greater decentralisation in management, flexibility in disbursal of funds, greater use of ICT, and community participation in decision making among other things.

Ski l l deve lopment i s an important element of a nation’s knowledge initiative. There is a growing concern today that the education system is not fulfilling its role of building a pool of skilled and job ready manpower, resulting in a mismatch between the skill requirements of the market and the skill base of the job seekers. It also said that 57 percent of India’s youth suffer from unemployment. To address this problem we need to overhaul the system of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the country.

At NKC recommendations have been submitted on improving the quality of VET in the country. We have suggested measures to increase the flexibility of VET within the mainstream education system by providing due linkages with school and higher education which could be done through community colleges that provide two year associate degree courses. Further, to effectively provide quality skill development, we have recommended steps to expand capacity through innovative delivery models, including robust public private partnerships. We have also suggested the creation of a robus t regula tory and accreditation framework, training options for the unorganised sector, and measures aimed at re-branding VET to alter its perception in the country.

At the other end of the spectrum, in higher education we have stressed the need for expansion of the system to facilitate greater access, improvement of the quality of education and advocated inclusion in the interests of equity. This is especially crucial given our current Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education (percentage of the 18-24 age group enrolled in a higher education institution) of 10-11 percent which is much


lower than the 25 percent for many other developing countries. Moreover, we have also suggested reforms aimed at the regulatory structures in tertiary education and a move to create a new paradigm of governance which will encourage openness, transparency and remove cumbersome barriers blocking the entry of new institutions of higher education.

A s t r o n g e c o - s y s t e m o f research is critical for India’s transformation into a knowledge and skills economy. The quality of research in the country is in appalling shape. According to a study measuring research output from different countries published by Thomson Reuters, during the period 1st January 1999 - 31st October 2008, China was in fifth place and India in twelfth place. Further, the study indicated that China jumped from 1.5% of world share in 1988-1993 to 6.2% in 1999-2008 whereas India limped from 2.5% to 2.6%. At NKC we have recommended reforms to improve the quality of research in universities which is crucial if India is to be at the forefront of cutting edge innovat ion in indus t ry and agriculture. Currently, we have very few institutions capable of conducting quality research, resulting in a flight of academic

talent out of the country. This braindrain has to be converted into a new policy of braingain. We have also looked at innovative ways to integrate research and teaching, and making universities the hubs of research again. We have also stressed the need for collaboration in research through greater use of new technology. The crea t ion of a Nat ional Knowledge Network (NKN) linking all research and education institutes in the country through a high-width broadband network will allow live data and resource sharing as well as unprecedented collaboration. The first phase of this revolutionary network has already been rolled out by the Government.

Likewise, to improve access to knowledge, NKC has made suggestions for revamping the entire library and information sector in the country as well as developing a translations industry. NKC’s recommendations have also focused on improving professional education including legal, management, medical and engineering education, encouraging open and distance education and attracting talented students into maths and science streams. We have also touched upon issues such as innovation, entrepreneurship and IPR (intellectual property rights),

which are crucial for creating a competitive knowledge eco-system. We have also recommended reforms in e-governance to improve the delivery of public services. Further, we have also tried to address the challenges faced by Indian agriculture and the traditional health systems in the country, and have delineated knowledge initiatives which can enhance the quality of life of the common people. In short, through suggesting across-the-board reforms, NKC has tried to provide a roadmap for building a true knowledge society.

To move towards a new century of growth and innovation, we need simultaneous progress on all fronts. We need new structures and ideas in the education field to enhance access and remove barriers. In this context the passage of the Right to Education Bill is a significant start. We need new mindsets to leverage technology in innovative ways to make delivery of services easier, to make processes of governance smoother and to create opportunities where they didn’t exist. It is only by challenging our rigid systems and adapting them to new realities that we can create a knowledge society which will give unprecedented benefits to future generations. q

(Email : [email protected])


Management of Universities

EDuCaTION

Yash Pal

PERSPECTIVE

The author is a renowned educationist and former Chairman, UGC. He has held many prominent positions during his career. He was the Head of the Committee set up by the HRD Ministry to Advice on the Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education.

do not propose to attempt a comprehensive tome on this subset of managing institutions. But the specific needs and the current aberrations do suggest

an out of the ordinary alteration in regard to management of universities. Before I take up specific suggestions, it is worth reminding ourselves of the personality and characteristics of a towering university.

A university should aspire to combine the function of delivering knowledge with that of creating new knowledge. It cannot be a collection of good courier agents, who just deliver information from books and journals to their students. There should be an atmosphere enveloping the whole university space that every thing is not known, that

There is enormous amount waiting for those who would develop discerning eyes - for phenomenon, for relationships, for ways of discovering what lies beyond the current horizon. Such

an atmosphere should pervade most departments, schools, centers and, even the administration.

All this depends vitally on the character and qualification of the Vice-Chancellor and others who have the power to influence or interfere in the academic affairs of the university. The good academics in the university must have academic respect for the Vice Chancellor. Simultaneously the Vice Chancellor should have personally tasted creativity, because then only it becomes natural for him to protect and encourage others who are moving in such a path. Unfortunately such positive circumstances are seldom available to the young researchers in the university. But when they are, a significant flight of creativity can occur. Therefore the primary mission of developing a great university is to look for such special people to head it. Mind you, I am not insisting that every Vice-Chancellor should be an active researcher, but it helps a lot if in his

IOne of the

requirements of a good university

should be to engage in knowledge

creation – not just for the

learner but also for society as a

whole


carrier he has tasted the experience of searching and finding some new bits of knowledge. Administrators and army men can more easily do an efficient management job; but spawning creativity needs a different breed of talent. Now that we are likely to set up several new institutions, I hope we would keep in mind this particular requirement. I do not know though how we will be able to correct a large number of mistakes we might have already made.

In this connection I am reminded of a story Homi Bhabha was fond of narrating while comparing the way he was trying to set up science laboratories in comparison with the method being followed by another major agency. His motto was first to locate some one superlative and build a laboratory around him. He did not like to build facilities and then start looking for people to fill them. In this regard he quoted the tradition set up by the Max Planck Society in Germany. They decided to build great laboratories only around brilliant people and went to the extent of closing them down when the excellent head retired or died! I do not know that they go to this extent now, nor should we. But it is good to remind ourselves that excellent buildings, and lot of modern equipment alone do not define the greatness of an institution. We should specially remember this in regard to many new universities and institutes we have recently decided to set up and plan for the near future. This is also a relevant consideration when thinking of collaboration with foreign universities, or of inviting some of them to set up shop here. Will there be any world leaders who are likely to come or just competent people of the kind we already have in some abundance?

Larger AspectsWe were struck by the fact that

over the years we have followed

policies of fragmenting our educational enterprise into cubicles. We have overlooked that new knowledge and new insights have often originated at the boundaries of disciplines. We have tended to imprison disciplinary studies in opaque walls. This has restricted flights of imagination and limited our creativity. This character of our education has restrained and restricted our young right from the school age and continues that way into college and university stage. Most instrumentalities of our education harm the potential of human mind for constructing and creating new knowledge. We have emphasized delivery of information and rewarded capability of storing information. This does not help in creating a knowledge society. This is particularly vile at the university level because one of the requirements of a good university should be to engage in knowledge creation – not just for the learner but also for society as a whole.

It became clear to us, therefore, that overall regulating structure for all higher education should be just one. This would imply that the UGC and AICTE should be subsumed within a single Higher Education Commission. There is no need for separate Councils for various areas and the responsibilities of various existing councils should be changed to define the floor exit qualifications of personnel who exit from the respective institutions. Knowledge and curricular details would be determined by appropriate universities under guidelines of appropriate structures set up by various wings of Higher Education Commission. Some details about the structure of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), various bodies attached to it and other aspects are discussed in the report. (It might be noted that the justification and role of the suggested HEC are

different from those proposed by the Knowledge Commission). We hope the Commission proposed by us would also act as a facilitator and catalyst for joint programs between different Universities and other institutions.

Let me point to some of the recommendations that have arisen from this way of thinking. Our report comes at a time when there is a refreshing seriousness about doing some thing ambitious and unprecedented in our higher education. A large number of Central universities are being set up - also several Institutes of Technology, Management and other areas. During a lot of discussion in this regard we have also talked of World-class Universities. We would like to point out that there are no great universities in the world that do not simultaneously conduct world class programs in science, astronomy, management, languages, comparative literature, philosophy, psychology, information technology, law, political science, economics, agriculture and many other emerging disciplines. Indeed the emerging disciplines do their emerging because of infection or triggering by other fields in the same university. That is the reason that such universities are so great and our academics keep going to them. Our argument is that they would not be great if they could not accommodate people from many other disciplines. Put together, all the disciplines breed value into each other. If forced to stay in isolation from each other they would not have the character demanded for greatness. It is our strong recommendation that the new Universities, including those we call Indian Institutes of Technology – or Management should have the character of such world-class universities. Furthermore, the existing Institutes of Technology whose competence as excellent undergraduate institutions we do


recognize (also their brand name) should be challenged to play a bigger role – for example similar to that of great universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or Caltech. In addition, like these great universities of the world they should engage with a much wider universe of knowledge, both at undergraduate and post graduate level.

We are also convinced that Indian higher education as a whole cannot go far without paying equal attention to the State universities. They are also Indian universities and a large fraction of our students will continue to come from them. Many of them are as good as our central institutions and should be given a chance to fly. We should think seriously about the manner in which the motivation and resources are enhanced all over the country.

I would like to mention our deep concern in respect of two matters.

Mushrooming engineering and management colleges, with some notable exceptions, have largely become, mere business entities dispensing very poor quality education.

Deemed Universities have also mushroomed. Most of them do not belong to the same class as those recognized as such twenty years ago. This provision was reserved for a few truly outstanding education and research institutions, with a consideration that they would bring depth and variety into the education system. We are seriously concerned about the character and value of the recent explosive growth and have made specific recommendations in this regard.

Finally, I would point to the prevalent feeling in the universities that there is too much inspection, interference and delay in their dealings with State and Central Governments. I am sure universities and colleges should themselves share some blame in this regard,

but we need to move away from this blame game. We have to devise somewhat different, more efficient, funding management system. We would recommend that universities should become self-regulating partners in managing the overall education system. Continuous monitoring and inspection leads to delays and engenders corruption.

You would notice that I am placing supreme importance on the character of universities. They must create new knowledge. Besides making people capable of creating wealth they have a deep role in the overall thinking of society and the world as a whole. This job cannot be performed in secluded corners of information and knowledge. It would be silly to deny the practical role of experts in areas of science, technology, economics, finance and management. But narrow expertise alone does not make educated human beings for tomorrow. Indeed, speaking more seriously, one could almost say that most serious problems of the world today arise from the fact that we are dominated by striations of expertise with deep chasms in between.

A year and some months after we started I feel that I had been engaged in a movement in which there was lot of thinking and an enormous amount of sharing. We did have several meetings in proper meeting rooms, but we also had open interaction with close to a thousand Vice-Chancellors, Principals of colleges and teachers. In addition, in most places we visited there was interaction with large groups school and college students. For me meetings with children are always energizing because they are not yet fully imprisoned in disciplines. After all this I have been left with a deep feeling of optimism. Hidden in small places, in obscure schools, colleges and universities,

there are potential geniuses to be discovered. Many of them could be the great knowledge creators of tomorrow. We have to discover and implement ways that would not put useless hurdles in their path. That is our challenge. A few essential recommendations of our committee are the following:

We have suggested that the present regulating bodies should all be subsumed within a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER).

To reduce most possibilities of interference this Commission should be established through a Constitutional amendment and have a Constitutional status.

NCHER has not been visualised as a Czar. The autonomy of universities is to be respected and we should not enforce dead uniformity. They do not have to be carbon copies of each other.

Stand-alone single discipline institutions should try to broaden themselves to provide a more wholesome education to their students and thus qualify for the title of a degree giving university.

And a lot of other matters, such as the question of affiliated colleges, have been discussed at length. We have been conscious of the fact that our committee should not try to do the job of the proposed NCHER.

But I do reserve the right to add that in order to enrich our higher education we might invite from abroad a substantial number of potentially great academics and scientists to work with our students and teachers, instead of importing mediocre foreign universities to set up shop here. q

(E-mail : [email protected])


Aligning Higher Education with the Labour Market

EDuCaTION

ONG HELD no t ion that the main purpose of higher education is to ennoble citizens—though still persistent

in some places—has now given way to a more pragmatic belief that developing skills and abilities to innovate are the main goals of higher education. In a world in which competition is global and change is constant, no factor is more critical to the success of a country than the quality of its higher education.

In recent years, Indian economy has grown rapidly. Interestingly, by skipping the manufacturing stage and going straight to the services sector, the country took a rather unconventional path to growth. This resulted is a surge in demand for graduates in certain areas taking the higher education sector by surprise. Unable to meet this demand, higher education sector received a lot of flak. Ironically,

L

The author is Secretary in the Government of West Bengal. He was Financial Advisor and Coordinator of new initiatives in UGC, and Fulbright New Century Scholar on Higher Education from India during 2005-06

Introduction of two year ‘associate degree’ with focus on vocational skills through the existing

polytechnics and general arts and science colleges

would go a long way in aligning higher education with the

labour market

Pawan Agarwal

these shortages were accompanied with rising graduate unemployment and underemployment.

Changing nature of work and growing integration of labour markets at the global level makes the coordination between higher education and labour market complex.

Developments in the labour market

There have been three key developments in the Indian labour market in recent years. First, the country’s high economic growth created new jobs in the IT and IT enabled services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and engineering design sectors. In addition, several new economy sectors such as finance, insurance, organized retail; aviation, hospitality, animation, media, real estate and infrastructure opened up a wide variety of job opportunities, not all necessarily requiring graduate qualifications.

aNalySIS


Secondly, many Indians are now hired for jobs overseas and a wide range of jobs are off-shored to India. At the same time, Indian companies are also hiring foreign nationals. Thus, there is a global labour market. More and better jobs are being created for Indians, who are playing an important role in this global labour market.

Final ly, due to technical changes, most jobs in both manufacturing and services sector are now clustered at the low productivity end, while some are at the high productivity end, with the middle hollowing-out. Thus, a majority of the workforce is engaged in jobs requiring basic or intermediate skills.

These developments are evident from the population data of 2001 census. Out of 402 million workers, merely 12.5 million workers were in the high skill category (legislators, senior officials, managers and professionals) that could be related to people requiring graduate degree or above. 127 million cultivators, 107 million agricultural labourers and 16.9 million workers in household industries did not obviously require graduate qualifications.

A large number of workers are technicians and associate professionals, plant and machinery operators, service workers, craft and related trade workers. They require basic or intermediate vocational skills. Significant numbers of people are in elementary occupations (street vendors, domestic helpers, messengers, porters, labourers etc.) requiring at best some basic literacy skills.

Trends suggest highest growth in elementary occupations that has large base and in high-skill category having a very small base. A large number of people require vocational skills and their number is also growing.

Higher education and training sector

Higher education enrolment ratio at 11 percent, though low in absolute terms appears to be adequate to meet demand for graduates. Its growth of about 9 percent annually in recent years (though not as dramatic as China, where it has grown nearly 20 percent annually) is healthy; and yet, there are skill shortages in many areas. The reason for this lies in the internal structure of the Indian higher education and the manner in which higher education and training sectors are organized in the country.

Higher education in India is skewed in favour of humanities and arts, and about four-fifths of the graduates do not have any employable skills. With rigid academic structures, there is little student choice and large variation in quality across institutions. Ordinary graduates that the country’s higher education system churns out are unfit for the new jobs being created. It is therefore not surprising that graduate unemployment rate at 19.6 per cent is significantly higher than the overall rate and more than 60 per cent of graduates perform jobs that do not require graduate skills.

Even the professional institutions produce graduates having a uni-

dimensional outlook despite their diverse socio-economic, and cultural and geographical background. A large proportion of people with varied interests in science, literature or even sports opt to take up engineering only because it is perceived as being the course of choice for brilliant students.

With many inadequacies in courses and curricula, higher education institutions do not provide skills for the new economy sectors. A large variety of new jobs require good English language skills, yet the pool of people with good English language skills is shallow.

The demand for vocational skills is large and growing yet, vocational sector is small and has not grown fast enough due to its poor image. Only about two percent persons of age 15-29 years receive formal vocational training and another eight percent receive non-formal training. Vocational training in India has a negative association with manual labour. Thus, academically less meritorious students from poor families take up vocational courses, while the smarter kids carry on to universities and colleges.

There is little mobility from the vocational to the higher education sector and the two sectors are separated. This segregation has throttled growth prospects of the vocational sector. In many countries around the world, easy transfer from vocational to academic stream is possible and there is no stigma in taking vocational courses. In fact, there is special focus on basic and intermediate skills that require


vocational training. President Obama has recently announced $12 billion plan for investing in community colleges that focus on vocational skills to give a boost to the ailing US economy. Based on Leitch Review, the UK has taken up initiatives to make its higher education skill oriented.

In sum, in overall terms, India does not have a problem of supply of graduates; the problem lies in the uneven quality of graduate and skill mismatch and small number of people with basic and intermediate vocational skills. With rapid economic growth, investment boom and accompanying structural changes, the situation had aggravated in certain segments, bringing focus on higher education and skill development in recent years.

Now with slowdown, with media reporting job losses and weak placements, people are voluntarily opting for further education and skill upgradation. Thus skill shortages are not general, but specific and often temporary and cyclical. The solution may, therefore, not lie in large-scale expansion of higher education, but in identifying the shortages and finding context-specific solutions and building adaptive capacity in the system.

Aligning the two

Linkages between higher education and the labour market are tenuous. Addressing the problem of unemployment and underemployment of graduates on the one hand, and the problem of skill shortages on the other requires interventions that makes

the connection between higher education and the jobs more efficient.

In times of rapid change, institutions have to become more responsive to changing labour markets and student interests. Unfortunately, universities are not particularly innovative institutions; they are not well suited to quickly pulling together whatever resources are needed to respond to a new problem or challenge. This problem is more serious in India due to the structural rigidities of the system, near absence of competition between institutions, and mindset problems.

In r ecen t year s , severa l initiatives have been taken to bridge the gap. Industry-specific and context-specific solution is being tried in many sectors. Many companies have taken up in-house talent development. Short-cycle programmes, either on stand alone basis or in conjunction with regular programmes with focus on employable skills, are now on offer. These programmes bridge the gap between the theoretical curriculum in universities and colleges and practical specific skills required in workplace. Certification and benchmarking by end users is being used to raise quality and meet needs for qualified manpower.

Higher education system has however been slow to respond. Due to the rigid academic structure, process for changing curricula in the universities is painfully slow. Modifications to existing course content in response to employers’

suggestions, introduction of new courses and teaching methods and expanded provis ion of opportunities for work experience, al l intended to enhance the development of employability skills are required.

Experience has shown that private institutions are far more adaptable and non-formal provision is better in responding to the students’ demand. Thus, a suitable mix of the public and the private, the formal and the non-formal provision for higher education and training provides an optimal solution and would meet the changing needs of economy and society.

Unified education and training systems are best suited to respond to changes in the job markets. This would require building pathways between the vocational and the higher education sectors through a national qualifications framework and re-branding of vocational education. Managing public–private mix and devising policies that ensure healthy growth of both the public and the private sectors are needed.

Creating a unified system of higher education and training is found useful in liberal market economies, such as in India, with unpredictable labour markets. Greater mobility between vocational and higher education gives students more flexibility to match their education with employment opportunities as they arise.

This mobility either already exists from the very beginning—as in the US with community colleges awarding associate


degrees, after which students can transfer to a university. Or such mobility is introduced by the reorganization of higher and vocational education as in the UK, where polytechnics were given university status putting an end to the binary system.

Introducing two year ‘Associate Degree’

Introduction of two year ‘associate degree’ with focus on vocational skills through the existing polytechnics and general arts and science colleges would go a long way in aligning higher education and the labour market. Currently, polytechnics that award three-year diploma after tenth standard are outside the higher education system. These polytechnics could award a two-year associate degree after class 12 with possibility of transfer to normal colleges for undergraduate degree and re-branded as ‘new colleges’. Despite entry after tenth standard, most students admit only after class 12 in the polytechnics.

Inclusion of the existing 1750 polytechnics in higher education system would add two million student capacity to higher education. Similarly, general arts and science colleges could be encouraged to offer associate degree for a large variety of service sector jobs.

In several cases, it should be possible to merge ‘new colleges’ with the existing colleges to enable the new entity to offer several vocational and undergraduate programmes together. Upgradation of some the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) that impart craftsmen training to new colleges offering associate degree or at least building pathways from ITI-certificates to associate degree would also be useful.

Aligning higher education and the labour market requires multi-level coordination with speed and flexibility and building pathways between the vocational and the higher education sectors to form a seamless fabric of education and training. For big countries like India, given the enormity and complexity of the task, this multi-level coordination is better achieved through the market forces rather than central planning. Thus, we need a paradigm shift in thinking about the higher education and training sector to enable it to compete globally. q

(Email : [email protected]) YE-

9/09

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One Good Example is Worth a Thousand Theories

EDuCaTION

H I S C O M M E N T by Stanley Fischer, the former Managing Director of the IMF is quoted by Thomas

Friedman in his book ‘The World is Flat’ and perhaps best summarises a general perception that while there is no dearth of expert opinion on what should be done in the primary education sector, it is now time to look at examples of what has actually worked to analyse the reasons for this and to suggest how best these can be replicated elsewhere. The schools run by the Government of Delhi for instance have undergone a radical transformation in the past few years from a system which was once considered one of the worst in the country to one which is now undoubtedly one of the best. Drab, dull, gray and dirty buildings are giving way to bright, cheerful, clean ones with functional toilets

T Rina Ray

and drinking water for all children. Teacher absenteeism, which used to be among the highest in India, has been almost wiped out and all teachers now reach their school on time and remain there for the full school day. All financial benefits such as that for school uniforms and all supplies such as text books reach each and every child and there is no diversion. Classroom teaching has undergone an amazing change with the introduction of joyful methods of teaching particularly for the primary classes, and all Delhi Government school children are learning to speak English just like all “other” children. In fact, short video clips showing the impact of the English language training imparted to school teachers under an arrangement with the British Council can be viewed at the Education Department’s official website www.edudel.nic.in. The

INITIaTIVES

The author is a senior civil servant and was Secretary Education in the Delhi Government for four years till June, 2009.

A fine balance has to be drawn

between taking care of the employees

and providing them with as many benefits as possible on the one hand,

and ensuring that they produce results on other


smart children shown there creating stories in class from English words given to them by their teacher are all primary students in Standard V in Delhi Government Schools. The achievements are reflected in the fact that the overall enrolment in all classes increased by 20% in just a three year period till 2008. More significantly the Government took a major decision at the start of the academic year in April 2009 to increase the number of seats available in all Delhi Government S c h o o l ( D G S ) i n p r i m a r y classes by a huge 10 % in order to accommodate the increasing number of applications received for admissions. A substantial number of the new students are coming from private schools within Delhi and adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, or are children who would otherwise have gone to a private school but for the visible improvements in DGS. In fact, the national media, undoubtedly one of the hardest to please, have carried front page articles on how DGS are now a viable alternative to private schools, a far cry indeed from just a few years ago when even the Planning Commission suggested that we hand over all our schools to the private sector or NGOs as we just “could not run them”.

In our endeavour to improve the quality of education in DGS the first step was to identify what needed to be done and the specific activities that would have to be carried out or implemented. These two take care of the ‘what’ and the ‘how’

aspects, both crucial to achieving our goal. It is surprising how easily people presume that everyone knows “what to do” and that others don’t do their duties because they are lazy or corrupt. But the truth is that most people don’t know what to do and are usually afraid to ask for fear of being scoffed at (very common) or appearing ignorant (even more common). This lack of clarity on duties coupled with a general confusion on the terms used in education (GER, NER, retaining capacity, apparent survival rate etc.) creates hurdles which hold up implementation. We therefore decided to “translate” everything into simple language which everyone understood. For example, we put aside concepts like “access” and broke it up into simple “to do” activities like constructing toilets and appointing teachers.

In the next step we clearly informed everyone what they had to do. Thus the Branch Incharge of civil construction was asked to construct the toilets and the administrative branch asked to ensure that all vacancies of teachers were filled. This was done for all areas and all activities pertaining to the civil construction wing were put under the heading “infrastructure”, be it providing ramps (which would otherwise come under inclusive education), constructing new classrooms or schools (which would otherwise come under enrolment) or as mentioned, constructing toilets in all schools (which would otherwise come under access).

We have ultimately grouped all activities into 5 categories- Training, Administrative issues, Infrastructure, E-Governance, and School based learning, with a clear cut definition of roles and responsibilities.

The next step was to actually carry out all these activities so that we would reach our goal, in other words, the ‘how’ part. The basic route we followed is as under:-

Diagnose the problem first, don’t treat the symptoms

As India battles swine flu my mind goes back a few years to when I was Health Secretary in Goa and the state witnessed the country’s first patient of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The excellent doctors there put us through a crash course in medicine and one of the most important lessons we learnt was the importance of distinguishing between the problem (i.e. the illness) and the symptoms which were indicating the presence of the problem. A fever for example is not an illness- it is a symptom indicating the presence of a disease such as malaria, swine flu, or even a simple viral infection. It is the duty of a doctor to identify the illness causing the fever and to treat the illness ( the problem) and not the fever (the symptom). A doctor may need to carry out a series of tests before he can reach the correct diagnosis.

The same applies elsewhere including education. A poorly


functioning school with low enrolment , high drop out, low learning achievement levels, bad building, high teacher absenteeism etc. is symptomatic of a much deeper illness (problem) which must be diagnosed properly if the correct treatment is to be given. For instance, there is enormous concern that many children do not even have basic skills in maths, reading or writing, as borne out in studies carried out by the NCERT and others, which are quoted often. The main reason why children cannot perform simple tasks is not because they are not able to, but because they have not been taught to do so. This could be because:

The teacher is absent for long periods, or even every day. A strict enforcement of attendance covering online attendance, surprise inspections and strong disciplinary action, as was followed in DGS, would help;

The teacher is well meaning but does not know what to do. A strong dose of high quality professional training, like in DGS, would work well here;

The teacher does not exist. The Administrative branch obviously has to work towards filling in all posts and creating them wherever required, as was done in DGS.

However, the truth is that it is perfectly possible to spend a lifetime enforcing attendance, training teachers, and filling in vacancies, and still make no difference in the

learning achievement levels of students! To go back to the analogy with medicine, it is necessary therefore to go even further into the symptom of low learning achievement levels to understand what is causing it. When we carried out this extensive, in depth exercise in the DGS we came up with the main problem for almost all the symptoms in the education system-the utter and complete disillusionment and alienation of the teachers, principals and officials.

Invest in people, they are worth it

Whatever the issue pertaining to education, all roads ultimately lead to the people who are responsible for ensuring delivery – the teachers, principals and officials. It doesn’t matter how much funds are pumped in or new schemes launched, if the people responsible don’t work then everything is meaningless. An education system is an organization like any other and a fine balance has to be drawn between taking care of the employees and providing them with as many benefits as possible on the one hand, and ensuring that they produce results on other. When we followed this approach and delved into why our employees (the teachers, principals and officials) were not delivering we were shocked at the magnitude of the negativity and disillusionment we encountered. Our employees were deeply resentful of the fact that no one was looking into their problems of stagnation where

promotions had not taken place for years, of the bias in transfers where employees with connections got plum postings, of unfulfilled promises in the Assured Career Progression Scheme, and of huge delays in receiving salaries, GPF withdrawals, sanction of leave etc. They were angry that no one was bothered about whether they had toilets or not, of the fact that their superiors treated them badly and that everyone only had expectations from them and no one was interested in their grievances. The list was a long and troubled one but we took a conscious decision immediately that we would deliberately work towards removing all the professional problems that our employees were facing. In addition, a healthy system of incentives and rewards was introduced and over time, we were able to transform most of our previously disillusioned and alienated employees into positive, dynamic ones. A very robust training programme not only honed their professional and leadership skills but linked their work with a higher purpose and gave it meaning. We also learnt the importance of giving our employees respect. Our teachers and principals became part of all policy decision making and extensive powers and funds were decentralized to them. We established cordial relations with the Unions and learnt to work as a Team. The result was that our teachers and principals began to feel valued and to own all the


initiatives, which in turn ensured that they worked to achieve the goals of the department.

Recognise ground realities and always try to be a few steps ahead

There are many reasons why even the best laid plans and most noble intentions can go awry, not the least of which is corruption. But if we are alert enough then these can be countered. For instance, providing a library in all schools should be a relatively easy task once funds are allocated, but the truth for us was very different. Low grade publishers formed a cartel and in collusion with unscrupulous officials sold poor quality or inappropriate books to schools. When we finally solved all the problems and put bright, new, child friendly books and comics in schools, our feed back was that teachers were stealing them.

Extensive professional and motivational training coupled with a robust system of incentives and rewards, in an environment where job related concerns are being positively addressed (as above) helps to a very large extent to achieve goals and overcome such problems.

But there will still be obstacles and challenges which must be squarely faced and for this a rigorous monitoring system must be in place, and whenever required, disciplinary action has to be swift. A comprehensive e-governance programme with camera and broadband enabled computers in all schools will help senior officers

to be in touch with all schools at all times. This must be accompanied by a structured programme of inspections, both surprise and planned, by a variety of persons including the community. In the case of our libraries a decision to create a team of teachers and students in all schools who would select and buy the books and watch over their issue, alongwith strict disciplinary action in the case of a few librarians, ultimately worked. There are many areas where we adopted a policy of zero-tolerance such as in cases of child abuse, absenteeism and proven corruption, and we did not hesitate to act against the teachers, principals or officials concerned. However, it is important to note that there was no resistance to this or any backlash because of the activities which we were simultaneously carrying out under step 2 above.

As a result of these, the Delhi Government was able to usher in a host of initiatives under the over all banner of YUVA which have made learning in schools joyful, meaningful and interesting, so that children develop a desire to go to school and these include:

l Ensuring that BALA (Building as Learning Aid) activities are conducted in all schools whereby the building becomes a bright and happy learning tool for all students.

l Sending all students from Standard 1 upwards on a local tour to parks, historical sites etc. within Delhi.

l Sending Standard xI students on out station tours to places like Agra and Jaipur to learn about their country.

l Developing animated curriculum in house called Caltoonz.

l Tying up with the British Council to provide high quality English language training to all teachers.

l Conducting capacity building programmes to upgrade the professional skills of teachers.

l Providing motivational and leadership training to teachers, principals and officials.

l Making learning joyful in the classroom through a host of initiatives like theatre, music, song, dance, debates, skits, puzzles and mental maths.

l Promoting sports and games for all students including self defence for girls.

l Launching mobile schools for out of school children.

l Starting the Kitabi Magic Movement to upgrade all libraries, and many others. These can be viewed in the Department’s Quick Report (Updated) 2008 and the Preview to the YUVA School Lifeskills Programme, at the official website.

There is still a long way to go but I am confident that the Department has found a path which really and truly makes a positive difference to the lives of millions of children. q

(Email : [email protected])


It is Raining Umbrellas this Monsoon

ShODh yaTRa

VEN THE most common and simple articles of daily use can have surprising new uses as ingenious people come up with new

ideas. Creativity knows no bounds! While most of us would accept life as it comes, there are these creative people - different and inspired- who are ready to innovate.

umbrella that rains and cools

Normally the mention of an umbrella makes most of us think of shelter from rain, but to Supriya Chotrey (13 years) from Khurdha, Orissa it was the heat and sun that were more bothersome. During the year 2002-03, Orissa was reeling under acute heat waves and many who lived in open blazing sun had died. The news of human casualty stirred the young mind of Supriya. She conceived of an umbrella, which could provide relief from heat. Lowering the temperature under the umbrella can do this, she thought. And she solved this problem by putting a layer of sponge under the upper canopy of the umbrella. Then she pondered over ways to get this sponge wet. Water sprayers used by barbers gave her an idea.She fitted one

E

Some of hisinnovations have huge applicationpotentials – the only hurdle is

to make a breakthrough in

commercialterms

such sprayer- a small plastic bottle fitted with a spraying handle - to the handle of umbrella, so that it could spray water on to the sponge. She chose white cotton cloth for the top of the umbrella to reflect heat. Now she faced another problem of measuring the threshold ambient temperature so that water could be sprinkled at indication. To solve this problem, she consulted her science teacher who suggested fitting a siren to the handle of the umbrella and a thermometer to measure the temperature. When the ambient temperature rises above 35º C, the built-in siren signals the umbrella to sprinkle water from the attached spraying bottle. It saturates the sponge below the top. Once the umbrella gets wet, one gets cool air. For this umbrella that rains and cools, Supriya won an award in National Innovation Foundation’s (NIF’s) fourth National Competition for Grassroots Innovation and Traditional Knowledge in 2007 in students’ category.

Rain water harvesting umbrella

Rain water harvesting sounds familiar, but have you heard of an umbrella being used for this ? Ojasvi Goel, a young


student of class six from Delhi has made certain modifications in an umbrella that can harvest rain water to some degree. These allow the water that falls on the umbrella to collect into a bottle attached to the handle. So you can save yourself from water and save water at the same time! Ojasvi participated in IGNITE 08- the national competition of students’ ideas and innovations and was awarded a prize by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for this umbrella. Another student, Remya Jose from Mallapuram, Kerala has come up with another idea using umbrella to harvest rain water,

which she calls ‘Lotus Umbrella’. She has inverted the umbrella and fixed it on the roof, with moisture sensors attached. When ever there is rain, the umbrella opens automatically due to the sensors and collects rain water in it. This is then channeled to a small water reservoir.

umbrella with solar cells

Kaushal Kumar Mishra from Motihari, Bihar and Manish Sharma from Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh are two young students who have ideated putting solar cells on the umbrella. During the day, when this umbrella with solar cells is being used in the sun, the cells get charged. These charged cells can later in the evening be used to run different devices. Little Nageshwari Prajapati from Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh has sent an idea about an umbrella mounted on a cycle such that whenever there is rain or the sun is harsh, a simple push of a button can

open the umbrella. Lairenlakpan S and Wahengbam D Devi of Imphal, Manipur also gave a similar idea to us during one of the idea competitions organised in their school.

Muga silk umbrella

It is not that only children have come up with ideas related to the umbrella, many adults too have worked around it. Dulal Choudhary from Kamrup, Assam has made an umbrella with specially processed Muga silk. He has mechanised the process of muga silk weaving by way of making modifications in the conventional mechanised loom. Muga silk weaved with the device becomes soft as well as blocks UV radiations up to 80 per cent as per laboratory tests at Tezpur University. This umbrella is durable, stain free and water proof. It has a pleasing golden shine. NIF had facilitated the technology transfer of this muga umbrella to Assam Silk Development Centre. Kamruddin Chowdhary from Alwar, Rajasthan materialized Nageshwari’s idea many years before she actually conceived it (which shows that similar thoughts can be triggered in different people at different points of time). Besides modifying an ordinary bicycle by adding tools and accessories, he also incorporated an umbrella to protect the rider from sun and rain. Suhail Salim Kasim, from Ahmedabad gave an idea about an umbrella that can be ‘worn’ by people and not necessarily be held in hand so as to enable them to work freely in the sun. q

(E-mail : [email protected], www.nifindia.org)MugA SILK uMBRELLA

RAIN wATER HARVESTINg uMBRELLA


Making Secondary Education more Relevant

EDuCaTION

URING THE course of my 37 years in service I have been concerned with the quality and relevance o f o u r e d u c a t i o n ,

particularly for the rural areas. I have also held positions which directly dealt with education at various levels. Village elders have told me in the course of personal interactions that education of their wards has been a handicap for them. Once a young man passes the class ten or twelve exam he considers farming beneath his new found stature. At the same time there is not enough employment available to absorb most of such young people. For girls, the story is somewhat different because they get married off and looking for a job is not among their priorities. Apparently, their marriage prospects improve! The village elders compare these

D

The author has retired from the Indian Administratives Service.

Our education system is designed for those who wish to pursue higher

studies in universities or in technical

institutions. What is needed is employment

oriented education, particularly at the higher secondary

level

B K Saha

“educated” boys with the proverbial laundryman’s (dhobi) dog, that is, “dhobi ka kutta, na ghar ka na ghat ka”.

The problem lies in the fact that our education system is designed for those who wish to pursue higher studies in universities or in technical institutions (medicine, engineering, etc.) making no allowance for those who do not have the aptitude for higher studies. The result is that students either drop out after class ten or twelve or enroll in degree colleges for want of anything better to do. We thus spend huge amounts on producing a large number of unemployable youth who hold univers i ty degrees. They are not educated unemployed, but unemployable graduates! Any employer will tell you how frustrating it is to get the right people for available

VIEW POINT


jobs. Construction companies do not get adequately trained masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, electricians, etc. Offices cannot get good stenographers, computer operators, accountants , etc . Factories and workshops cannot get mechanics and technicians. These graduates (or holders of secondary school certificates) do not possess employable skills even if they are considered educated.

Recent government policies have concentrated on primary education (though I feel it is more quantitative than qualitative) through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and also on higher technical education (more IITs, AIIMS, NITs and more seats in the existing ones). In the latter case, an important factor has been overlooked and that is the paucity of good teachers. As a member of the selection committee of a prestigious technical institution I am seeing this problem at close quarters.

What is needed is employment oriented education, particularly at the higher secondary level. It may be relevant to point out that under the existing dispensation a very large percentage of schools do not have laboratories even though they offer courses in science. As Chairman of the M. P. Board of Secondary Education I found that the situation was alarming. Even government higher secondary schools did not have laboratories! I had to take the unpleasant

and unpreceden ted s tep o f derecognizing three government higher secondary schools for the science course. Similar action had to be taken against an even larger number of private schools. There were cases of members of the Board who ran such schools.

The policies aimed at increasing access to higher professional education seem to ignore the fact that these courses are fed by institutions which award high school (Class x) and higher secondary (Class xII or 10+2) certificates. A weak feeder level means weaker performance at the next level. Students from rural areas who somehow manage to crack the entrance exams often struggle to keep abreast of the class in professional colleges. During interactions with persons who are professionally qualified I have very often found that they do not know the basics of the subjects that form the foundation of their discipline. Engineers do not know basic science and MBAs do not know basic economics and financial analysis. So, even if we want to push for larger access to higher professional education we need to strengthen the base which is secondary and higher secondary education. This needs to be tackled with a dual purpose, viz., to make it relevant for those who do not have the aptitude for university or professional education by including vocational

subjects and to equip those with the ability and desire to pursue higher education.

There is no doubt that there are some very good schools which do impart very good education (mainly for higher studies) but their numbers are woefully small as seen by the scramble for admission to these much sought after schools. I am personally aware that some well known chains have stopped or are going slow on new franchises because it is difficult to maintain high standards through franchises. What is needed is to strengthen higher secondary education (i.e. classes Ix to xII) in the bulk of the existing schools, particularly in the rural areas. Let us not forget that there is a vast pool of talent out there waiting to be tapped and today’s urbanites are from the stock.

Two major steps need to be taken to correct the situation.

One, make a vocational subject compulsory at the plus 2 level for all students.

It may be argued that there are separate schools for vocational education. Unfortunately, many consider such schools/courses as “inferior” and it affects their dignity (caste oriented professions may have something to do with this mindset). Making a vocational subject compulsory need not affect grades in the plus 2 certificate if it is over and above the core


subjects and the marks of only the best four or five subjects (including the vocational subject) are considered for the effective total and to determine rank. But it would be necessary to get a qualifying grade in the vocational subject to pass the exam. It would also foster dignity of labour, something woefully absent in our culture.

Two, make it difficult or even impossible for students who do not have the aptitude for university and/or professional courses to take up such courses by means fair or foul (like paying ones way into medical/engineering colleges).

It is likely that persons who have paid a hefty sum to get into such colleges are likely to “make up” for i t through unethical means once they s tar t their professional career, more so in government. This would not only eliminate wasteful expenditure on higher education, which is usually highly subsidized by the government, but also the years spent uselessly in getting degrees which do not have any employment potential.

No skill acquired goes waste. Even if a student goes on to pursue higher studies the skill learnt through the vocational subject would prove useful in life. The first school I attended was coeducational and run by an Irish nun. Sewing (including

embroidery) was compulsory for all students. The skill so acquired has not gone waste! On a different footing, in our days the Cambridge School Certificate Exam was actually conducted by the University of Cambridge and it was compulsory for all Indian students to take and pass an Indian language to get a first division (if otherwise qualified). No matter how well one did in the other subjects, failure in the Indian language meant he would be awarded only a third division! I took Bengali (my mother tongue) and I am glad I did so though in my professional life I had to use only Hindi and English.

For those who fail to get admission into degree or professional colleges due to lack of aptitude (or the minimum grade) a vocational course in industrial training institutes (ITI), polytechnics or vocational training institutes would be the natural choice. The fact that he had a vocational subject in his plus 2 course could prove useful. Thus, a case is also made out for increasing the capacity and reach of vocational institutes which would offer courses according to local needs. For example, if an area is being developed for industrial activity there would be need for persons with skills related to construction, workshops, transport (drivers, motor mechanics), office working, etc. It may also be desirable to

make it mandatory for employers to employ only those with the requisite skills holding certificates from such recognized institutes.

Another factor which makes out a strong case for opening up opportunities for vocational education is the high dropout rate at the class x level (in 2003 only 26% passed the High School Certificate in M. P.). Let us not be misled by the high percentage of success in the CBSE, ICSE boards. Some of the best schools in the country are affiliated to the CBSE. In fact, many schools affiliated to the state boards would be too willing to come under the CBSE. Some of these schools try to improve their standards in the hope of crossing over to the CBSE. At a national level workshop organized by NIEPA some new ideas were being put forward for grading students, which, I confess, went over my head. I requested a proponent to come to Madhya Pradesh and explain what he had said to 20 of my best principals, all expenses paid. He did not respond.

In the recent admissions to Delhi University it was heartening to know that several new degree courses had been introduced which were vocational in nature and job market oriented. This step was the need of the hour. In fact, it was overdue. Time the feeder levels rose to the occasion. q

(E-mail : [email protected])


NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWSIN THE NEwS

Education Centres under PPP Model

The government plans to set up 2,500 model education centres under public-private-partnership (PPP), where private sector is expected to invest about Rs 10,000 crore. An additional 3,500 schools will also be opened through public funding by the next academic year.

The Planning Commission and the HRD ministry are working out modalities to implement the plan. The HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has said that this will be done in the next academic year. The new schools are expected to provide quality education to over 25 lakh under-privileged children.

The proposed school is expected to be called Jawahar Kendriya Vidyalaya, where private parties will have freedom to manage the schools as per the government policy. The infrastructure of the new institution will be as per CBSE standards.

SEZ Exports

Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to grow by about 10 per cent to Rs. 1,10,000 crore in 2009-10 financial year.

Exports worth Rs. 99,689 core have been made from SEZs during 2008-09 registering a growth of 50 per cent over the exports for the year 2007-08, projection of exports for 2009-10 is Rs. 1,10,000 crore.

The tax-free zones in Andhra Pradesh contributed Rs. 2,727 crore to the total SEZs exports. So far 576 formal approvals have been given for setting up SEZs, of which 319 have been notified.

The Country’s tax-free enclaves have attracted foreign direct investment of over Rs. 10,900 crore in the last three years.

Road Infrastructure

The pubic private partnership appraisal committee (PPPAC) under the finance ministry has given a green signal to projects worth Rs 15,560 crore.

The list approved includes 15 major projects involving four or six laning in phases III and V of the NHDP. As many as six of the national highways approved under the PPP mode will pass through the state of Gujarat amounting to a total investment of about Rs 6,900 crore. This will benefit the adjoining states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well. Two major highways worth Rs 3,800 crore will also pass through Maharashtra and Goa. Of the fifteen projects ten are earmarked for four laning while the remaining five are a combination of four and six laning. The 25th PPPAC meeting was held on July 9, 2009 and gave approvals to projects spread over seven states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

(Courtesy: Newspapers)


Challenges Before Education in India

EDuCaTION

DUCATION IN India has a history stretching back to the ancient urban cen t res o f l ea rn ing at Taxila and Nalanda.

Wes te rn educa t ion became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the central government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the centre, and the state having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian constitution provide for education as a primary need. Most universities in India are Central or State Government controlled. India’s education system turns out millions of graduates each year, many skilled in IT and engineering. Th i s manpower advan t age underpins India’s recent economic advances, but asks deep seated problems within India’s education system. India’s demographics are generally perceived to give it an

E

The author is Research Scholar, Centre for Political Studies, JNU, New Delhi

Education is a necessary and

increasingly vital Component in any Nation’s Development.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Affirms that ‘Everyone has the

Right to Education’.

Shashank Chaturvedi

edge over other countries. Indian governments have seen education as a crucial development tool. Since Independence, the education policies of successive governments have built on the substantial legacies of the Nehruvian period, targeting the core themes of plurality and secularism, with a focus on excellence in higher education, and inclusiveness at all levels.

Development of India’s Education Policy

Traditional education in India served a very limited purpose of a particular section of the society belonging to certain caste. During medieval period education was similarly elitist, favouring the rich. These pre-existing elitist tendencies were reinforced under British rule. British colonial rule brought with it the concept of a modern state, a modern economy and a modern education system. The education system was first

STuDENTS SPEaK


developed in the three presidencies (Bombay, Calcutta and Madras). By linking entrance and advancement in government service to academic education, colonial rule contributed to the legacy of an education system geared to preserving the position and prerogatives of the more privileged. In the early 1900s, the Indian National Congress called for national education, placing an emphasis on technical and vocational training. In 1920 Congress initiated a boycott of government-aided and government-controlled schools and founded several ‘national’ schools and colleges.

Nehru envisaged India as a secular democracy with a state-led command economy. Education for all and industrial development were seen as crucial tools to unite a country divided on the basis of wealth, caste and religion, and formed the cornerstones of the anti-imperial struggle. Following Independence, school curricula were thus imbued with the twin themes of inclusiveness and national pride, placing emphasis on the fact that India’s different communities could live peacefully side by side as one nation. The legacies of this Nehruvian approach to education are considerable; perhaps most notable is the entrenchment of the pluralist/secularist perspective in the minds of the Indian people. Subsidized quality higher education through institutions such as the IITs and IIMs formed a major contribution to the Nehruvian vision of a self-reliant and modern Indian state, and they now rank amongst the best higher education institutions

in the world. In addition, policies o f pos i t i ve d i s c r imina t ion in education and employment furthered the case for access by hitherto unprivileged social groups to quality education. It has been argued that while access for some marginalized communities continues to be limited, the upward mobility of a few Dalit and tribal households resulting from positive discrimination in educational institutions and state patronage has created role models that help democracy survive in India.

Education for Modernisation, National unity and Literacy

Drawing on Nehru’s vision, and articulating most of his key themes, the Kothari Commission (1964–6) was set up to formulate a coherent education policy for India. According to the commission, education was intended to increase productivity, develop social and national unity, consolidate democracy, modernize the country and develop social, moral and spiritual values. To achieve this, the main pillar of Indian education policy was to be free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14. Other features included the development of languages (Hindi, Sanskrit, regional languages and the three-language formula), equality of educational opportunities (regional, tribal and gender imbalances to be addressed) and the development and prioritization of scientific education and research. The commission also emphasized the need to eradicate illiteracy and provide adult education. India’s curriculum has historically prioritized the study

of mathematics and science rather than social sciences or arts. This has been actively promoted since the Kothari Commission, which argued that India’s development needs were better met by engineers and scientists than historians. The perception has remained that students only study social science or arts subjects as a last resort, though recently commerce and economics have risen in stature.

National Policy on Education

After around two decades of National Policy on Education of 1968, in 1986, Rajiv Gandhi announced a new education policy, the National Policy on Education (NPE), which was intended to prepare India for the 21st century. The policy emphasized the need for change: ‘Education in India stands at the crossroads today. Neither normal linear expansion nor the existing pace and nature of improvement can meet the needs of the situation.

According to the new policy, the 1968 policy goals had largely been achieved: more than 90 per cent of the country’s rural population was within a kilometer of schooling facilities and most states had adopted a common education structure. The prioritization of science and mathematics had also been effective. However, change was required to increase financial and organizational support for the education system to tackle problems of access and quality.

The 1986 policy was reviewed by a committee constituted in 1990 under the chairmanship of Acharya Ramamurti. On the basis


of the recommendations of this committee, certain provisions of the 1986 policy were modified in 1992. Thus, in all, the three comprehensive national policy statements exist on Education.

l National Policy on Education, 1968

l National Policy on Education, 1986

l National Policy on Education, 1986, as revised in 1992

Apart from these above National Policies on Education, in order to ensure quality education following initiatives have been developed

l Operation Blackboard (1987–8) aimed to improve the human and physical resources available in primary schools.

l R e s t r u c t u r i n g a n d Reorganization of Teacher Education (1987) created a resource for the continuous

u p g r a d i n g o f t e a c h e r s ’ knowledge and competence.

l Minimum Levels of Learning (1991) laid down levels of achievement at various stages and revised textbooks.

l Nat ional Programme for Nutritional Support to Primary Education (1995) provided a cooked meal every day for children in Classes 1–5 of all government, government-aided and local body schools. In some cases grain was distributed on a monthly basis, subject to a minimum attendance.

l District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)(1993) emphasized decentralized planning and management, i m p r o v e d t e a c h i n g a n d learning materials, and school effectiveness.

l Movement to Educate All (2000) aimed to achieve universal

primary education by 2010 through micro planning and school-mapping exercises, bridging gender and social gaps.

l Fundamental Right (2001) involved the provision of free and compulsory education, declared to be a basic right for children aged between 6 and 14 years.

In te rms of quant i ta t ive achievement following data provided by the Department of Higher Education shows the comparative growth of Indian Education since Independence

Chal lenges before Indian Education

W i t h t h e g r o w i n g democratization and the demand for quality education in India, it has been observed that both central and state governments have initiated the process of

Important Achievements

Quantitative ExpansionThe following comparative figures show the remarkable growth of Indian Education since India became a republic in 1950

S. No Item Figure in 1950-51

Figure in 2005-06 (unless otherwise stated)

1 Literacy Rate 18.3% 64.8% (2001)2 Female Literacy Rate 8.9% 53.7%3 Schools 0.23 million 1.28 million4 General Colleges 370 116985 Professional Colleges 208 77976 Universities 27 3507 Gross Enrolment Ratio in Elementary

Education32.1% 94.85%

8 Gender Parity Index at Elementary level 0.38 0.929 Public Expenditure on Education as % of GDP 1.5% 3.46%


making education available to the last person in the society. But in this process following can be shortlisted as the impediments. These impediments are also being recognized by the policy makers.

Access - While availability of elementary schools within a reasonable distance from habitations is now fairly universal, same cannot yet be said in regard to Secondary Schools and Colleges. Pockets still exist in many remote parts of the country where the nearest Secondary School or College is much too far for everyone to be able to attend.

Besides the physical availability of institutions, other barriers to access – e.g. socio-economic, linguistic–academic, physical barriers for the disabled, etc. – also need to be removed.

P a r t i c i p a t i o n & E q u i t y Gross Enrolment Ratios for the elementary, secondary and tertiary stages of education in 2003-04 were 85%, 39% and 9%, respectively. These participation rates are undoubtedly low, and need to be raised very substantially, for India to become a knowledge society / economy.

A linked challenge is one of equity. Participation rates in Education are poor largely because students from disadvantaged groups continue to find it difficult to pursue it. Even when they manage to participate, students suffering from disadvantages of gender, socio-economic status, physical

disability, etc. tend to have access to education of considerably lower quality than the others, while the education system needs to provide them access to the best possible education so that they are able to catch up with the rest.

Quality - The challenge of quality in Indian education has many dimensions, e.g.

l Providing adequate physical facilities and infrastructure,

l Making available adequate teachers of requisite quality,

l Effectiveness of teaching-learning processes,

l Attainment levels of students, etc

Besides the need to improve qua l i t y o f ou r educa t iona l institutions in general, it is also imperative that an increasing number of them attain world-c l a s s s t a n d a r d s a n d a r e internationally recognized for their quality.

R e l e v a n c e - E d u c a t i o n in India needs to be more skill-oriented – both in terms of life-skills as well as livelihood skills. In sheer numerical terms, India has the manpower to substantially meet the needs of a world hungry for skilled workers, provided its education system can convert those numbers into a skilled work-force with the needed diversity of skills.

Management - Management of Indian education needs to build in greater decentralization, accountability, and professionalism, so that it is able to deliver good

quality education to all, and ensure optimal utilization of available resources.

Resources - India’s stated national policy - ever since 1968 - has been to raise public expenditure on Education to the level of 6% of GDP. On the other hand outlay of Central and State Governments for Education amounted to about 3% of GDP. Thus, the gap in allocations for Education is still substantial, and needs to be urgently bridged.

Democracy and development mean nothing for those who are not touched by the hand of progress. In this strive for ensuring the hand of progress to the last person, there is urgent need to ensure quality education for all. Right to Education is one of the most remarkable attempts made by the government in the recent past. The strong growth prospects of our economy, coupled with present phase of globalisation, have fuelled the demand for education in India. To cater to this demand, the government has gone ahead with a new set of strategies in the xIth Plan. It has launched ambitious schemes for expansion, strong knowledge base and other quality parameters so as to adapt the system of higher education to the market requirements. This kind of interventions will ultimately help our education system to exploit opportunities emerging from globalisation; at the same time catering to wide variety of needs that make up for the diversity of our society. q

(Email- [email protected])


Ministry of HRD Agenda for the First 100 Days

Legislative Initiatives= Enact the Right of Children

to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, followed by notification of the 86th Constitutional Amendment in the official gazette.

= E v o l v e c o n s e n s u s f o r establishment of an All India Madarsa Board.

= An autonomous overarching authority for Higher Education and Research based on the recommendations of Yashpal Committee and National Knowledge Commission;

= A law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices;

= A l a w f o r m a n d a t o r y assessment and accreditation in higher education through an independent regulatory authority;

= A law to regulate entry and operation of Foreign Educational Providers;

= A law to establish a Tribunal to fast-track adjudication of disputes concerning stake holders (teachers, students, employees and management) in higher education;

= A law to further amend the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, to strengthen the Commission;

= A law to amend the Copyright Act, 1957 to address the

concerns relating to copyrights and related rights of the various stake holders

Policy Initiatives= Attempt to formulate a policy

framework for PPP in school education, evolve a variety of PPP models, and apply them as feasible.

= Further the use of ICT in secondary schools and in open/distance schooling through broadband connectivity.

= Evolve a National Curriculum Framework fo r Teacher Education in consultation with all stakeholders and in accordance with NCF, 2005.

= Formulation of a ‘Brain-Gain’ policy to attract talent from across the world to the existing and new institutions;

= Launching of a new Scheme of interest subsidy on educational loans taken for professional courses by the Economically Weaker Students;

= Strengthening and expansion of the Scheme for Remedial Coaching for students from SC/ST/minority communities, in higher education;

= ‘Equal Opportunity Offices’ to be created in all universities for effective implementation of schemes for disadvantaged sections of the society;

= A new policy on Distance L e a r n i n g w o u l d b e formulated;

= Regional Central Campus of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak to be started in the state of Manipur;

= Model degree colleges would be established in 100 districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities;

= 100 women’s hostels would be sanctioned in higher educational institutions located in districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities;

Administrative and Other Initiatives= Explore possibilities of setting

up independent, accreditation body in the area of school education.

= P u s h t h e p r o c e s s o f examina t ion re form in accordance with NCF-2005. This will include making the class x examination optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school (and who do not need a board certificate) to take an internal school assessment instead.

= Introduce a system for replacement of marks by grades in schools affiliated to the CBSE for the secondary classes i.e. Ix and x

= Recast the National Literacy Mission to focus on women


= Awareness generation and intensification of efforts in the area of Madrasa/Maktab modernization and skill development for Muslim children

= Review of the functioning of the existing Deemed Universities;

= Operat ional izing newly es tab l i shed 12 Cent ra l Universities and 2 new IITs;

= A c a d e m i c r e f o r m s (semester system, choice-based credit system, regular revision of syllabi, impetus to research, etc. which are already mandated under the Central Universities Act, 2009) to be introduced in

other Central Educational Institutions;

= Modernization of Copyright Offices;

= 5000 colleges and university departments to be provided wi th broadband in ternet c o n n e c t i v i t y u n d e r t h e “ N a t i o n a l M i s s i o n o n Education through ICT”;

= Assistance would be provided to States to establish at least 100 new polytechnics (over and above assistance already provided for 50 polytechnics in the last financial year) in districts without any polytechnic at present. States would also be assisted for the construction of 100 women’s hostels in the

existing polytechnics and for upgrading 50 existing polytechnics;

= Approvals would be obtained for establishing 10 new NITS in the un-served States so that every State has one earmarked NIT;

= Operationalizing 700 revamped Community Polytechnics for skill development of rural youth;

= Direct credit of scholarship into the bank accounts of 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls every year, under the new Merit Scholarship Scheme for students in the universities and colleges.

YE-

9/09

/1


J&K WINDOW

Infrastructure Projects for Kargil

In what could help it to become a major tourist attraction, the centre has sanctioned three infrastructure projects for Kargil to develop and upgrade its tourist facilities.

The tourism ministry has sanctioned three infrastructure projects for Kargil at Rs. 1198 lakhs. Rs. 484.47 lakhs have been sanctioned for development of tourist facilities in and around Kargil. Similarly Rs 241 lakhs will be spent for development of Drass-Panikhar and another Rs. 472 lakh for creation of facilities for the tourists in Drass-Sankhoo area.

Government would also ensure security of the tourists. The ministry of tourism has advised all state governments to deploy tourist police at tourist destinations and also circulated guidelines for formation of tourist security organizations comprising ex-servicemen.

Promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the state governments, but the tourism ministry extends support and financial assistance for tourism projects. These funds are provided under the Product Infrastructure Development and Destinations and Circuits of tourism.

(Courtesy: Greater kashmir)

Kashmiri Flowers

With many other new things making way in the Srinagar city, florists are also creating their space.The weather of Kashmir permits the growth of unique and wide variety of flowers which are

traded in to different parts of the country.Initially these flowers were only used for gardens and parks in Kashmir, besides being exported. But

with the setting up of florist shops in many parts of the city, flowers are now being used for different other purposes locally too.

These natural flowers available at florist shops are now being used for decoration of cars and the wedding places as well. A culture of giving flowers on brith day and other occasions has also grown with the establishment of these florist shops. The youth are particularly attracted to this trend.

This has in turn provided a boost to the floriculture industry of Kashmir, which is no more dependant on markets outside state.

(Courtesy : kashmir Times)

First Integrated Biopolymer Facility for J&K

J & K will soon be country’s first state to have a fully dedicated bioplastic product manufacturing facility. The J&K Agro Industries Limited is going for a joint venture for the manufacture of 100 per cent biodegradable and compostable products. This would be India’s first integrated biopolymer facility.

With an installed capacity of producing approximately 960 MTs the state of the art facility will commence production by October, 2009. With this, natural biodegradable bio-bags shall be a cost effective substitute to currently used polythene bags. Besides, it would be manufacturing plant pots and trays for floriculture, carry bags for all shopping applications, outer packaging material for foodstuff and meats, etc, bin liners for hotels, clubs, etc. These products have a huge market in the country and abroad.

It is interesting to note that India consumes around 5 million tonnes of plastic products per annum which is trebling every decade. It is expected to touch 12.5 million tonnes by 2010, making India the third largest consumer of plastics by 2010.

(Courtesy : kashmir Times)


Gender Disparity in Education

EDuCaTION

Anupam Hazra

PERSPECTIVE

D U C AT I O N i s a basic human right that increases the economic, socia l and pol i t ical opportunities available

to women. It empowers women to take control of their lives and create opportunities and choices to improve their condition as well as that of their families. Besides providing knowledge and skills and income-earning opportunities, education of women can reduce child and maternal mortality and fertility, improve family health and increase children’s education, particularly of girls. This in turn will improve the status of women in the society, and facilitate a faster attainment of the Millenium Development Goals..

The Indian Government has expressed a strong commitment towards education for all. Though the gender gap in educational involvement has reduced over the years, but in India it is still a matter of great concern. As per the latest

Human Development Report of South Asia, “One of the discrimination that girls and women are facing in India is the fact that they are not able to enjoy the right to education. More than half of the adult illiterates (63%) are women and nearly 2/5th girls enrolled in primary schools are drop-outs before grade 5.”

While overall enrolment rates at different levels of schools has gone up, especially after the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the gap between enrolment level of boys and girls continues to be disturbing. At the primary level, the gap is of 8 million between enrolment of boys and girls, even though overall enrolment has gone up from ----. In Middle / higher primary school (class 6-8) the enrolment has gone up from 3.1 million to 48.7 million with the gap of 6 million between boys and girls and in high school, enrolment has gone up from 1.5 million in 1950-51 to 35 million in

The author is Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Assam University, Silchar.

E

The goals of growth and

sustainable development can

be achieved only by bringing equality between men and women through

education


2003-04, with the gap of 6 million in male and female.

However, it is heartening to note that while the gap between enrolment of boys and girls or the female-male ratio, in education is still a matter of concern, it has been

steadily improving over the years. In primary education the female male ratio has gone up from 71% in 1990-91 to 88% in 2004-05, in secondary education, the increase is from 50% in 1990-91 to 71% in 2004-05 and in higher education from 50% to 65% during the same

period. The ratio of literate women to men (in the age group 7 plus) has also increased from 0.61 in 1991 to 0.71 in 2001 at the national level.

Despite rapid growth in literacy in post independence India, gendered deprivation still exists and needs to be overcome. Despite progressively increasing gains for females in literacy and education resulting in declining disparities (Table-II), in 2001, only slightly more than half of the female population was literate as against three-fourth of males (75.85%).It may be seen that it took almost five decades for male-female disparity to reduce to half of what it was in the 1960s.Following the same logic, one can argue that if the present trend continues, it will take another five decades to finally close the gender gap in terms of literacy attainment.

Table 1 Number of girls per Hundred Boys Enrolled in School

Year Primary (Class I – V)

Upper Primary (VI – VIII)

Secondary/Higher Secondary (Class Ix – xII)

1950-51 39 18 161960-61 48 32 231970-71 60 41 351980-81 63 49 441990-91 71 58 502000-01 78 69 632004-05* 88 80 71

*Provisional

Source: Selected educational statistics 2004 – 2005. Ministry of HRD, Department of Education

women’s Education & The Millennium Development goalMillennium Development goals

Linkage with women’s education

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

An educated woman participates in income-generating activities, promotes family-income and thus helps the family to get rid of poverty

Achieve universal primary education

Since women are still deprived of basic educational facilities, education to every woman broadens the scope of universalization of primary education. Beside that an educated mother will always educate her daughter but an illiterate mother may not.

Promote gender equality and empower women

For women, education can be a pivotal catalyst out of gendered patterns of discrimination, a springboard by which they may claim their rightful place in society and development. Education would actually accord women certain advantages in areas where they have traditionally lacked access or differential rights. Thus education promotes women empowerment, which ultimately leads to gender equality.

To reduce child mortality An educated mother has a better understanding of child-rearing Improve maternal health An educated mother is more capable of keeping herself healthyCombat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Education is also a key means of empowering girls against HIV/AIDS and other diseases, giving them the knowledge and self-confidence needed to protect themselves through proper precaution

Ensure environmental sustainability

Evidence shows that education among women usually builds environmental consciousness in them. It enriches them with the basic knowledge about the adverse impact of environmental degradation

Develop a global partnership for development

Addressing the multiple barriers faced by girls in their efforts to access quality education and to persist in school necessarily leads to integrated, multi-sectoral approaches that involve numerous partners. This goes to the heart of the integrated efforts that are required to achieve the MDGs as a whole.


Gender Parity Index (GPI) is yet another measure to assess gender equality in education.GPI is the ratio of girls’ General Enrolment Ratio (GER) to boys’ GER at a given level of education. When the GPI shows a value of ONE (1) at a level of education – it signifies that opportunities for and access to education are available equally to both girls and boys at that level of education. Over the years, the gender gap has been narrowing, yet substantial gender disparity still persists – which is evident from the Table-III.

In order to eliminate gender disparity in education, schooling has been made completely free for girls in most states up to the higher secondary stage in government and government aided

schools. Constitution of India guarantees equal rights for men and women. Various Centrally Sponsored Schemes strengthen school education and a large number of girls have been benefited from these schemes. In the higher education sector, the UGC has been implementing various schemes for promoting women’s education in Universities and colleges. Some of these are (i) Scheme of Grants to Women Universities for Technical courses (ii) Scheme for Construction of Women’s Hostels, and (iii) setting up of Women Study Centres in 72 Universities. Participation of women students in Polytechnics was one of the thrust areas under World Bank assisted Technical Education Project. The scheme of Community Polytechnic aims at bringing in

Table II Male-Female literacy gap in India (In percent)

Census Year Persons Males Females Male-Female literacy gap

1951 18.33 27.16 8.86 18.301961 28.30 40.40 15.35 25.051971 34.45 45.96 21.97 23.981981 43.57 56.38 29.76 26.621991 52.21 64.13 39.29 24.842001 65.38 75.85 54.16 21.70

Source: Census of India 2001

Table III gender Disparity Index: 1950-51 to 2000-01

Year gender DisparityPrimary upper Primary Elementary

1950-1 0.49 0.69 0.491960-1 0.43 0.52 0.421970-1 0.32 0.42 0.331980-1 0.29 0.35 0.301990-1 0.25 0.31 0.262000-1 0.17 0.18 0.16

Source: Based on Selected educational statistics, Department of education, Ministry of HRD

communities and encouraging rural development through Science and Technology apprenticeship and through skill oriented non-formal training focused on women, minorities, SCs, STs, OBCs and other disadvantaged sections of the society. Currently 43% of the total beneficiaries are women. Access to higher education for girls has been expanding as also their enrolment in various courses. Their numbers in colleges, universities, professional institutions like engineering, medicine, etc. has increased from 3.81 million in 2002-03 to 4.04 million in 2004 – 05.

Based on empirical evidence, it has been estimated that countries that fail to provide basic education to women are likely to face considerable cost in terms of foregone economic growth (0.1–0.3 per cent lower per capita growth) as well as reduced rates of reduction in fertility (0.1–0.4 more children per women); child mortality (an average of 14/1000 higher rates of under-five mortality); and under-nutrition (2.4 percentage points higher prevalence of underweight children under age five) Universal basic education of good quality without discrimination is thus unquestionably a key to reducing both the structural causes of poverty and its effects and to building processes for sustained and equitable development. It is entrusted that the goals of growth and sustainable development can be achieved only by bringing equality through proper and sufficient education between men and women. Ensuring education to every woman is thus crucial for the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. q

(E-mail:[email protected]]


PROMOTINg EDuCATION OF gIRLSThe success achieved in education of girls in our country in the post independence period is the result

of a number of schemes put in place by the government for bringing girls to school and holding them there. While the stress on the education of girls has been the corner stone of most plans and policies related to education, some of the notable schemes that have come up in recent years are as follows :

SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

This is an effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. One of the objectives of the scheme is to bridge all gender & social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 & upper primary by 2010. The scheme has special features focussing on education of girls, which include provision of free textbooks to all girls upto class VIII, separate toilets for girls, back to school camps for out-of-school girls, bridge courses for older girls, recruitment of 50% women teachers, early childhood care and education centres in/near schools in convergence with ICDS programme, teachers’ sensitization programmes to promote equitable learning opportunities, gender-sensitive teaching-learning materials including textbooks, intensive community mobilisation efforts,‘ innovation fund’ per district for need based interventions for ensuring girls’ attendance and retention.

NATIONAL PROgRAMME FOR EDuCATION OF gIRLS AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL (NPEgEL)

The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) has been formulated for providing additional support for education of underprivileged/disadvantaged girls at elementary level. NPEGEL is a part of SSA and is implemented under its umbrella but as a distinct and separate gender component plan of SSA.

KASTuRBA gANDHI BALIKA VIDYALAYA

This is a new scheme for setting up upto 750 residential schools with boarding facilities at elementary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities in identified educationally backward blocks where the rural female literacy is below the national average and gender gap in literacy is more than the national average. The scheme will be coordinated with the existing schemes of Department of Elementary Education & Literacy viz. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and Mahila Samakhya (MS). The objective of KGBV is to ensure access and quality education to the girls of disadvantaged groups of society by setting up residential schools with boarding facilities at elementary level.

MAHILA SAMAKHYA

The Mahila Samakhya Scheme was started in 1989 to translate the goals enshrined in the NPE into a concrete programme for the education and empowerment of women in rural areas particularly those from socially and economically marginalized groups through informal learning. The MS scheme recognizes the centrality of education in empowering women to achieve equality. The Mahila Sanghas or women’s collectives at the village level provide the women a space to meet, reflect, ask questions and articulate their thoughts and needs and make informed choices. The programme has focused on awareness of the need to educate the children, especially girls, which has resulted in a direct impact on enrolment and retention of girls in schools.


Model Village

Once a wasteland, Now a Tourist Spot

The Army, in an endeavour to improve the existing standard and infrastructure in Assam, adopted Kalivety as a Model Village under Operation Sadbhavna. Three new classrooms were constructed by the jawans of the 105 Engineer Regiment and the existing classrooms were renovated. A childrens

park, football and volleyball grounds were also constructed in the school.

The village did not have adequate infrastructure for education and employment. There is no electricity in the village and even the road linking to the village is seasonal. Therefore, the principal of the village school and approached the Army for their help. The project was taken up by 105 Engineer Regiment under Operation Sadbhavana. A vocational training centre, complete with machines, was also constructed in the market place to provide employment avenues in tailoring, weaving and knitting for the people of the village. q

(Courtesy: Newspapers)

The satellite pilgrim township of Hajo which is the closest verdant retreat from the bustling capital city of Assam has added another tourist wonder to its existing treasures in the form of the new-look Pitkati Beel. The facelift at the initiative of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC)

is not less than a resurrection story for this Beel expanding over an area of 99 bighas.

Prior to the ATDC taking over charge of infusing a new lease of life to this vast expanse of swamp, it had a dense growth of hyacinths and other water thriving plants. One of the most breathtaking spots in the pilgrim town, this beel located in the backdrop of a line of hills was neglected and almost forgotten.

Under the tourism development project of the ATDC encompassing the Hajo town and Kamakhya funded by the Central Government, this beel has now emerged as one of the important destinations on the tourist itinerary.

There were initial hurdles when work was undertaken of cleaning the beel. It was a daunting task. But the support of the local people yielded positive results. Apart from being a tourist attraction, this beel would be used for promoting water sports. One of the traditional sports in this part of the State is boat racing and the game still kindles high enthusiasm among the local people.

For the ATDC, a big pat of approval for its work at the Pitkati Beel came when the 2nd National Dragon Boat Championship was held here last month. The tourist facility centre adjacent to the beel which includes a lodge with four double-bed rooms, a restaurant and a reception centre, has also come up as a great advantage for the people. This centre will be thrown open to tourists very soon. q

(Courtesy: The Assam Tribune)

North east diary


India’s Cultural Diplomacy and Nalanda

EDuCaTION

N D I A’ S C U LT U R A L influence has spread to all corners of Asia, whether it is China, Russia or the Middle East, through potent and popular conduits like

movies and music. Various other facets of Indian culture manifest spontaneously in people of non-Indian origin all over the world. Such influence paves the way for conscious cultural diplomacy in a world where major powers are increasingly promoting virtues of people-to-people cultural contacts. As a process of extending state influence, cultural diplomacy is not of recent vintage. For India in particular, the depth and reach of its cultural influence has been far and wide. It is therefore hardly surprising that India is playing a key role in the international initiative aiming to revive the ancient Buddhist University of Nalanda.

Cultural Diplomacy

Cultural diplomacy involves the exchange of ideas, information, art,

I

The author is a foreign policy and international relations analyst based in Singapore

The ‘new’ Nalanda can

successfully create a pan-Asian

community and realize the vision

of the Asian century

Parama Sinha Palit

lifestyles, value systems, traditions, beliefs and other aspects of culture. For India, the notion does not seem to have been specifically shaped by political and administrative processes and decisions. Cross-border movement of various strands of architecture, music, dance, theatre, films, art, literature, cuisine, attire, sports and religion from the Indian sub-continent has been occurring since ages.( Bibek Debroy, “India’s Soft Power and Cultural Influence”, unpublished paper for ISAS Seminar, November 24, 2008) The historical outflow of art and culture has helped India in imparting a conscious thrust to cultural diplomacy, particularly after the economic reforms of 1990s, which facilitated India’s global integration.

In several ways, cultural diplomacy helps in strengthening bonds between nations. These arise from shared values and interests. One such common thread running deep between India and East Asia is Buddhism. It is interesting to

hERITagE


note how Buddhism cemented India-China relations in the first millennium. Historian Tansen Sen efficiently establishes the multiple traditional links between India and China that were facilitated by Buddhism. Sen points out that Buddhist doctrines and institutions in the seventh and eighth centuries were instrumental in sustaining Sino-Indian cultural, diplomatic and commercial exchanges. Proliferation of Buddhism from India through mercantile channels created a network stretching from Iran to Korea and Japan. This facilitated inter-regional and inter-cultural links and fostered relations between diverse ethnic communities, linguistic groups and cultural zones. The impact of Buddhism was not confined to religion and trade alone. According to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, “its secular impact stretched into science, mathematics, literature, linguistics, architecture, medicine and music”.

The critical role played by Buddhism in reaching out and connecting various communities and cultures is also documented by Nayan Chanda in his lucid account of globalization. Chanda refers to the Chinese scholar Tan Yun-Shan who commented that “Buddhism was born in India, enriched in China, and then scattered over the world.”

It is this Asian identity that India wants to work on along with its East Asian neighbors in carving out an ‘Asian century’. By reviving Buddhist cultural links, India wishes to restore its old deep-rooted associations with China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and other countries in

the region. Over the last couple of decades, India has steadily emerged as a key strategic entity in Asia. However, its assimilation with the region is still incomplete. It is keen to reclaim its position within the Asian community at a level that is consistent with its historical contribution to Asian civilization. “I reiterate India’s commitment to work with ASEAN and other East Asian countries to make the 21st century truly an Asian century”. This emphatic submission by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, in his keynote address at the Special Leaders Dialogue of ASEAN Business Advisory Council on December 12, 2005 in Malaysia, coupled with India’s repeated reiteration of its cultural and civilisational links with East and Southeast Asia, demonstrates its eagerness to engage the region. Other countries in the region are also seized of the importance of creating a pan-Asian identity based on shared values.

T h e P a n - A s i a n i d e n t i t y envisages a cohesive and integrated Asia encouraging sharing of similar values, culture, religion and history. This consciousness of a common identity by the people of Asia is essential for imparting stability to the international order and for realizing the vision of an Asian century. The Nalanda University initiative is a key step in this direction.

Revival of Nalanda university

The ancient Indian University of Nalanda was a celebrated centre of Buddhist learning. Speaking at the exhibition “On the Nalanda Trail: Buddhism in India, China and Southeast Asia,” at the Asian Civilisations Museum on November 21, 2007, the Prime Minister had

remarked that the initiative to create a new centre of excellence at Nalanda is essentially for promoting cross-cultural understanding and learning. The collective effort by a group of Asian countries including India can be instrumental in enabling India to reestablish its ancient ties with East Asia. It is a significant step in India’s cultural diplomacy that aims to expand the domains of its ‘Look East’ policy.

Reviving and rebuilding Nalanda is part of a vision illustrated by the former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam. It has been decided to develop a US$ 1 billion corpus for funding the University’s construction. The Pan-Asian character of the project is clearly visible from the support extended by the East Asian Summit (EAS) members. The East Asian Summit includes all 10 member countries from the ASEAN and Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand At the 3rd meeting of the EAS in November 2007, the members had a ‘productive exchange of views on regional and international issues, as well as on the growing areas of cooperation within the EAS framework’. The Indian government plans to set up an Asian Consortium led by Singapore for managing the initiative. Japan is a key partner in the project and has expressed the desire to fund the initiative. China has already contributed to the establishment of the xuanzang Memorial Hall in the University.

The Nalanda Mentor Group ( N M G ) i s f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e establishment of the modern Nalanda University in the Eastern state of Bihar in India. The NMG is headed by the Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen and consists of members like George Yeo, Foreign Minister


of Singapore, Ikuo Hirayama, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Wang Bangwei, University of Beijing, Sugata Bose, Harvard University, Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics, NK Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Bihar Planning Commission, Tansen Sen, City University of New York, N Ravi, Secretart (East), Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Wang Gungwu, National University of Singapore and Susumu Nakanishi, Japan. The NMG feels that the project should be based on a ‘global philosophy while maintaining local relevance.’ It has had five meetings so far, deliberating the primary objectives of the proposed University, its curriculum and ways of securing international participation and cooperation. The NMG members also agree that the University should benefit local people and communities and encourage the participation of the latter in the international project. Effective implementation of the project will be instrumental in spurring infrastructure development in the area as there are ambitious plans of constructing a six-lane highway connecting Nalanda to capital cities in East Asia. In its fifth and latest meeting in the Buddhist holy city of Bodh Gaya in February 2009, it has been decided that more land will need to be acquired for the international University and the project envisions tie-ups with Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University. A Singapore Pilgrims House will also be coming up in Bodh Gaya, where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. The area is only 30 km from Nalanda. The project is also expected to result in significant spin-off benefits

like growth of basic amenities like schools, roads, safe drinking water, and electricity along with job opportunities for locals.

Nalanda : Cultural Diplomacy t h r o u g h a ‘ P a n - A s i a n Community’

The clay seals of Vainya Gupta, Budha Gupta, and Kumara Gupta, found at Nalanda, are collectively the best testimony of Nalanda’s prominence during the 4th - 7th century AD. As a seat of highest intellectual activity, Nalanda had a rich and diverse curriculum. Along with astronomy, metaphysics, and grammar, there was emphasis on Yogashastra, Brahmanical vedic texts and Mahayana and Hinayana teachings. Keeping in line with the historical traditions, the new University also aims to focus on a variety of disciplines including philosophy, Buddhist studies, history, business and management studies, peace studies, languages and international relations. Information science and technology has been further added to the list of disciplines in February 2009, flowing the last meeting of the NMG.

Nalanda attracted scholars and students from China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Indonesia,

Persia and Turkey. Chinese and Tibetan clerics however, dominated foreign visitors. Buddhist monks from China came to Nalanda in search of original teachings of Buddhism. It was perhaps around 629 AD that xuanzang— the illustrious Chinese monk, scholar and preacher-- visited Nalanda. xuanzang’s writings, thoughts and communications were vital in spreading Buddhism from India to China. It is reported that on his return to China, Emperor Taizong was eager to meet the monk who had seen ‘traces not seen

before, heard sacred words not heard before, witnessed spiritual prodigies exceeding those of nature’ (Chanda, p.181-82)

There are several references of scholars from Nalanda who visited China, Tibet and other neighbouring countries to assist in translation of Sanskrit scriptures into Chinese. Many works were translated into Chinese and Tibetan to help spread the philosophy and doctrines of Buddhism and Yoga along with Tantra.( Tantra was gradually making inroads into Nalanda during the later years and according to many was responsible for gradual deterioration of ‘original’ Buddhsim at the Mahavihara.) However, with the Nalanda University meeting its end in the 12th century, the cultural-spiritual links between India and East Asia came to a halt.

It is encouraging to note that India and the East Asian countries have taken up the Nalanda initiative for getting reconnected through historical and cultural roots. Nalanda represents the entire Buddhist ‘world’ and is both an instrument for facilitating cooperation within East Asia as well as a confidence-building platform for the Asia- Pacific. As the Nalanda initiative moves into an advanced phase of implementation, India is keen on seeking its successful fruition in a collaborative framework. The initiative offers India an excellent opportunity for utilizing common cultural and historical values for deepening integration with East Asia. The ‘new’ Nalanda can successfully create a pan-Asian community and realize the vision of the Asian century. ‘Asia is One’ may no longer be a distant vision and can actually become a distinct reality. q

(Email : [email protected].)


Gram Sabha in Maniya Village

bEST PRaCTICES

6 year old Sattan Bai’s joy knew no bounds when she received the first monthly pension of a princely amount of

Rs. 200 in Maniya vil lage, M a n d l a d i s t r i c t , M a d h y a Pradesh This was not part of any government scheme or an investment of the past but the result of a bold step taken by the village community though its Gram Sabha. The Gram Sabha announced a monthly pension for the most vulnerable persons of which Sattan Bai was one of the beneficiaries.

“Maniya village probably becomes the first village in the state where Gram Sabha has started its pension scheme for destitute persons, the most vulnerable and for those who are physically unable to do any work for their living” says Ajab Singh Maravi, Sarpanch of Chhatarwada Gram Panchayat, which comprises

9A Gram Sabha in

Madhya Pradesh has announced a monthly pension

for the most vulnerable persons

in the village. The pension

will continue till government benefits

under similar schemes reach them

Awanish Somkuwar

Maniya, Chhatarwada and Mohgao villages.

Triggering this process was an initiative taken by Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project which works through Gram Sabhas for promotion and protection of livelihoods of the rural poor. A ten-member social protection committee from within the village community was formed to sensitize villagers about rights and entitlements and the protection of the most vulnerable groups. The initiative found quick takers amongst the village body in Maniya , predominantly comprising of the ‘Gond’ tribe.

The Gram Sabha took positive action and announced this far-sighted scheme to address the needs of the those who were at the bottom end of the development process and needed succour immediately. An action which has made many a villager proud. “ The Maniya Gram Sabha has taken a radical decision to


give pension to the most vulnerable persons” says Pramod Singhai, member of Zilla Panchayat. The step according to Sukirti Bhushan, programme coordinator of Tagore Shiksha Samiti working in 14 villages in the district was a direct result of the strengthening of the Gram Sabhas.

The Gram Sabha is aware that it cannot be a substitute for a more expansive government policy to cater to the needs of the weakest in society. Sukhchain Singh Chicham, Gram Panchayat Secretary says that the pension will continue till the Government benefits under similar schemes reach people like Sattan Bai. He acknowledges that government social protection schemes do exist but procedural complexity becomes a hurdle.

Lamu Singh Maravi, a social worker in the region says that access to welfare schemes is difficult for the poor specially in remote tribal villages. According to him, villagers hear about relevant schemes but no officials visit them or guide them through the procedures so they remain bereft of its benefit. Another lacuna is that many deserving families do not meet the eligibility criteria. This is where the Maniya Gram Sabha has stepped in, to protect the truly deserving, the marginalized.

“This is an expression of Gram Sabha’s sensitivity for the poor and destitute. An example has been set in Mandla district” says Lamu

Singh Maravi “We are happy to have taken this decision because we have Rs. 1.50 lakh in our Gram Kosh (Village Fund).

This sentiment finds resonance across the village community. Nainvati Bai one of 10 members of Social Protection Committee says “ To me, it is a meaningful spending for a social cause”. She also states that Gram Sabha has evolved a set of rules sanctioning the pension which makes the entire process methodical and transparent.

Pramod Jharia, member of Nainpur Janapad Panchayat says that any social protection scheme should be need- based and be flexible enough to accommodate Gram Sabha’s discretionary powers. Any beneficiary identification mechanisms at the grassroots level according to him cannot be accurate without inputs from the Gram Sabha.

The entire process of the Gram Sabha reflects a flexibility to go beyond the confines of a set criterion defined for beneficiaries and respond to their needs in a direct way. Sattan Bai’s is a case in point. We found that Sattan Bai in our village deserves help as she is 96 years old and her widow daughter works in a crusher unit” says Adan Singh up-Sarpanch of Chhatarwada Gram Panchayat.

While villagers like Pratap Singh, Sukhman, Kasturi Bai, Thumri Bai are extremely happy that the most deserving have been

covered, there are others more skeptical. Shiv Prasad who heads a self-help group is worried about how long this can continue. After all, he says the Gram Kosh (Village Fund) will exhaust some day.

The members of the social protection committee see i t quite differently, however. They believe that government help is inevitable and the mechanism at the Gram Sabha level is only for an interim period. Once the government scheme meets the need of a particular individual, having fallen within its eligibility criterion, the Gram Kosh pension will be discontinued. It could go to another beneficiary who perhaps does not fall within the criterion or has been left out for any reason. Thus the Gram Kosh will function as a safety net so that no-one is left out in the cold.

What is refreshing is the approach of the villagers. It is finely tuned to the needs on the ground rather than to any institutional process. . “This is a little mechanism we could think and implement on our own” , says Sarpanch Ajab Singh Maravi adding that the alternative systems can be thought about and the mechanism redesigned.

At the core of this move lies a heart-tugging simplicity and a commitment to social justice which ensures that the village community collectively takes responsibility for those who have little else to sustain them except hope. q

(Charkha Features)


Adult Education

EDuCaTION

Promila Yadava

PERSPECTIVE

I T E R A C Y i s b o t h a n i n d i c a t o r a n d a n i n s t r u m e n t o f development, and its attainment is a major factor in the accumulation

of human capital. The declaration of 2003-2012 as the U.N.Literacy Decade is an indication of the global commitment to fight illiteracy. The commitment certainly is not misplaced - one in five adults the world over, cannot read and write. An estimated 776 million adults – or 16 % of the world’s adult population – lacks basic literacy skills. About 2/3 of these are women. Literacy therefore rightfully occupies a place of paramount importance in the implementation of Millenium Development Goals, and the world is working towards providing education for all (EFA).

Independent India inherited a legacy of abysmally low literacy rates, large scale inter and intra-regional imbalances, gender disparities and rigid social stratification in education levels. Although universalization

of elementary education and eradication of illiteracy have been major concerns for the Government post independence, the initial efforts in the area did not yield the desired success as far as adult education is concerned. Up to around 1977-78, the allocation for adult education under successive Five Year Plans remained very low- it was only 5 crore or about 3.27 % of the total outlay for education under the First Plan, and came down to 1.6%, 0.3% and 0.6% and 1.97 % of the outlay for education under Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Plans. It was presumed that the expansion of primary education would automatically take care of the problems of illiteracy.

It was only in 1977-78 that the Government decided to accord due weightage to adult education. The ‘National Adult Education Programme (NAEP)’ was launched on October 2, 1978, and adult education was put on the national agenda for the first time. An allocation of Rs. 200 crore was made in the Sixth Plan

The author is Senior Research Officer in the Planning Commission and specializes in education and literacy programmes.

L

Literacy is a right in

itself – precisely because

without it people do

not have equal life chances and

opportunities


which was a six fold increase over the Fifth Plan provision. Yet, the major impetus for adult education came only in 1988 with the establishment of National Li teracy Mission (NLM) in 1988 which accorded primacy to Literacy & Adult Education.

Female Literacy

Gender inequality is one of the most crucial and yet one of the most persistent disparities in India where differences in female and male literacy rates are glaring, more so in the rural areas and among the disadvantaged sections of society, where traditionally, the prevailing social structures have inhibited female literacy. Things have however, started looking up in the past few decades. According to the Census of India 2001 provisional population figures, the female literacy rate increased from 39.29 percent in 1991 to 54.16 in 2001 (i.e. by 14.87 percentage points): whereas, in case of males it increased from 64.13 percent to 75.85 per cent ( i.e. by 11.69 percentage points) during the same period. It means female literacy in the last 10 years has grown at a faster rate then the male literacy rate. This has resulted in narrowing down of the gender gap in literacy rate from 24.84 in 1991 to 21.69 percentage points in 2001. This progress is not only visible in all the states across the country but is also reflected in the progress registered by deprived sections of society particularly the scheduled castes and tribes. Women constitute 60% of the total beneficiaries under Adult Education Programmes. However, as per the 2001 census, there are still 47 districts in the country- most of them in the BIMARU states- with a female literacy rate below

30%. Therefore special innovative programmes are needed to raise female literacy levels in these districts.

Literacy amongst Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes

Acute economic deprivation and social disabilities accentuate the problem of illiteracy amongst scheduled castes/scheduled tribes. In case of scheduled tribes, the main problems arise from lack of communication, inaccessibility of their habitations, scattered population, lack of adequate institutional infrastructure, dearth of qualified local instructors and the variety of tribal dialects that make the problem of illiteracy more difficult. As per the 2001 Census, the literacy rate of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has increased by 17.28% and 17.5% respectively during the decade 1991-2001.

Key Issues Relating to Adult Ed-ucation

While the list of issues and concerns that remain to be resolved is long, the following are some of the major challenges that this sector of education is faced with:

Ιnadequate Funding - The emphasis, and consequently allocation under successive Plans has been heavily tilted towards elementary education. This is despite the growing recognition and realization that adult literacy/education has great potential for creating a favourable climate for universalization of education.Although the task of getting every child into school is both urgent and demanding, the intense effort needed for this need not and should not come at the expense of the equally important literacy programme knowing fully well

that adult literacy is intrinsically linked to the success of UEE goals. But unfortunately, adult education has lost its priority, urgency and seriousness of national concern in terms of funds, infrastructure and Human Resource Development (HRD) of functionaries associated with planning, management and implications of the programme

High Drop out Rates and no consolidation of acquired skills - The problem of drop-outs in the Adult Literacy Programme is heavily overlooked and those who actually attend the programme through the entire term end up with fragile achievements and subsequently over a period of time relapse into illiteracy. Therefore, there is a need to take stock of the extent of drop-outs amongst the neo-literates and further prevent their regression into partial or total illiteracy.

Need to recognize adult literacy & adult education as distinct phases of the programme - The first phase of basic literacy instruction and second phase of consolidation, remediation and skill upgradation, constitute two closely related operational stages of the programme.They need to be recognized as such and be a followed up by continuing education which provides life-long learning

Νo link with other programmes -To ensure wider expansion and performance of the Literacy Programme, there is need to link this programme with other Government programmes run by various Ministries/Departments like Health, Women and Child Development, Rural Development, Environment & Forest etc. The larger issues of l ivel ihood, governance, empowerment and


lifelong education requires focus and linking in the Eleventh Plan.

Lack of proper evaluation - The evaluation of literacy programmes has so far been confined to percentage of literacy attainments. We need better ways of measuring progress in literacy focusing on what people can do with literacy, and move away from literacy/illiteracy dichotomy towards a continuum of literacy levels, thus enabling better targeting of programmes.

Need to focus on functionality - Carefully programmed functional literacy programmes are capable of facilitating socio-economic development. The intensification of functional literacy alone will help rural poor illiterates to increase their productivity. It is functional literacy that can sustain the concept of lifelong education. However, the three primers are heavily curriculum oriented. Adult Education has to be lifelong education which requires creation of opportunities for people to learn at all stages.

Need to overcome gender disparity- Gender disparity in literacy is a deep rooted malady that has been reflected in all varied data /sources of both the international, government and the non-government sources.

Policy Implications

As per UNLD (2003 -2012) Plan, literacy policies and programmes today require going beyond the limited view of literacy that has dominated in the past. Literacy for all requires a renewed vision of literacy. in order to survive in today’s globalized world. Therefore, it has become necessary for everyone to learn new forms of literacy and use literacy in a variety of ways.

We are in the transitional stage, and are still far from the transformational stage. If the process of change is to happen with greater intensity, it must be initiated with an urban bias to cover rural masses.

Academicians and policy makers have argued endlessly about the definition and cultural meaning of adult education and literacy. We need to define clearly the ideology of adult education, whether it should be treated as a welfare or charity work or as a full fledged sector.

It is widely acknowledged that there is a critical need to ensure gender sensitive targeting and create social consensus about the importance of women and girls literacy. It needs no reiteration that female literacy is the key to all aspects of development, and that educating girls and women has cascading benefits and great dividends. Narrowing the gender gap in literacy is, therefore, really necessary.

The fact of the matter is that the crippling problem of illiteracy has never received the kind of attention it should have. There have been, in recent years, various plans but the effort has been sporadic and, worse, guided by conceptual confusion. What is now called for is that adult literacy planning be made essentially a movement for eradication of illiteracy .

Literacy Roadmap for Eleventh Plan

T h e N a t i o n a l L i t e r a c y Programme (NLM) wi l l be revamped in the 11th Plan. The plan aims at achieving 80% literacy rate, reducing gender gap in literacy to 10%, reducing regional, social and

gender disparities and extending coverage to 35 plus age group with special focus on SCs, STs, Minorities and Rural women. The plan would also lay focus on low literacy states, tribal areas, other disadvantaged groups and adolescents. The plan would also endorse goal of Education for All as applicable to literacy aims of achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015.

Literacy is a right in itself – precisely because, without it people do not have equal life chances and opportunities. It is a part of the right to education and therefore it facilitates the achievements of other rights. It is time to adapt rights-based approach to the entire issue of imparting literacy skills to one and all. Since about two-thirds of the illiterates in the world are females, this area need special treatment. The relationship between gender and literacy is more complex than what is portrayed by literacy statistics. We need to shift focus from treating women as a homogeneous group to more as a heterogeneous group in terms of their differing needs based on age, marital status, locations and economic situations. A Gender Perspective or Gender Mainstreaming would go a long way in creating ambience for a movement for women’s literacy. Further, we cannot deny the importance of universalizing elementary education, as the failure on this front would increase the number of illiterates manifold. The United Nations Literacy Decade has reached its mid-point, and it is high time that international concerns are endorsed, incorporated and integrated into the country’s policies, programmes and projects. q

(E-mail -- [email protected])


DO yOu KNOW?

The Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

Act on the 4th of August 2009, making education a Fundamental Right for every child in the country. The historic legislation underlines the obligations of the central and state governments for providing free and compulsory education to every child between the age of six and fourteen. Let us look at the basic provisions of the Act :

what does the Act provide ?

The Act provides that every child between the age of six and fourteen shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till the completion of elementary education, that is up to class eight. If a child is not admitted to school at the age of six he or she can seek admission even later on in a class appropriate to his/ her age, and will be entitled to free training to ensure that he is at par with his class. No child can be denied admission, expelled or held back before completing elementary education, and will continue to get free education even beyond the age of fourteen if he does not complete elementary education within that age.

what are the respect ive obligations of the Centre, States, local governments, schools and parents under the Act ?

The Central Government shall develop a framework of national curriculum , enforce standards for

It would be the duty of every parent to admit their children within 6-14 years of age to school.

How will the functioning of schools be monitored ?

This will be done through School Management Committees cons i s t ing o f the e l ec t ed representatives of the local authority, teachers and parents or guardians of children ( at least three fourth, with proportionate representation to parents of children from weak and disadvantaged groups. The School Management Committee shall monitor the working of the school, prepare and recommend school development plan, monitor the utilisation of the grants received and perform such other functions as may be prescribed.

what are the provisions for improving quality of teaching in schools ?

Minimum qualifications are to be decided for teachers by an academic authority decided by the Central Government. Teachers presently in service will be required to acquire these minimum qualifications within five years if they do not already possess the same. The salary and allowances payable to, and the terms and conditions of service of teacher shall also be prescribed. A teacher shall maintain regularity in attending school, conduct and complete the curriculum within the specified

RIgHT TO EDuCATION ACT

training of teachers and provide necessary technical support and resources to the State Government for promot ing innovat ions , researches, planning and capacity building.

The State and local Governments shall ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by every child of the age of six to fourteen years; ensure availability of a neighbourhood school , ensure that the children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against , provide infrastructure including school building, teaching staff and learning equipment; ensure good quality elementary education, provide training for teachers, and monitor the working of schools.

While free education would be provided by government schools, even private schools and special category schools have to provide 25 percent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class One .No school can charge any capitation fee or adopt any screening procedure for parents/child. The former can attract a fine of upto ten times the capitation fee, and the later Rs 25,000/- for first contravention and Rs 50,000 for subsequent contraventions. No School is to be established without obtaining certificate of recognition from an authority as prescribed. Schools will have to satisfy norms and standards specified under the Act.


time, assess the learning ability of each child and accordingly supplement additional instructions as required, keep parents and guardians apprised of the progress made by their child and perform such other duties as may be prescribed. Disciplinary action will be taken against defaulting teachers. The Act calls for a fixed teacher : student ratio in schools. Appointing authorities will have to ensure that vacancy of teachers in a school does not exceed 10 percent of sanctioned strength. Further, teachers are not to be deployed for any non-educational work except census, disaster relief or election. No teacher will be allowed to engage in private tuition. The Act also stipulates a time frame for improvement of school infrastructure.

who wi l l de termine the curriculum and evaluation procedure for elementary education ?

This will be laid down by an academic authority to be specified

grievance relating to the right of a child under this Act may make a written complaint to the local authority having jurisdiction. The local authority shall decide the matter as early as possible after affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the parties concerned. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the local authority may prefer an appeal to the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights .

what would be the function of the proposed National Advisory Council ?

The proposed National Advisory Council will be constituted by the Central Government from amongst persons having knowledge and practical experience in the field of elementary education and child development. The functions of the National Advisory Council shall be to advise the Central Government on implementa t ion of the provisions of the Act in an effective manner. q

by the appropriate Government, in conformity with the values enshrined in the Constitution and will focus on all round development of the child, building up his knowledge, potential and talent, full physical and mental development and making him free of fear, trauma and anxiety . No child shall be required to pass any Board examination till completion of elementary education and every child completing his elementary education shall be awarded a certificate.

How are grievances to be redressed under the Act ?

The National/ State Commission for Protection of Child Rights constituted under provisions of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 shall, in addition to their other functions, also examine and review the safeguards for rights provided under this Act and recommend measures for their effective implementation and inquire into complaints relating to child's right to free and compulsory education. Any person having any

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DUCATION in ancient India originated with the Gurukul system wherein the student or shishya imbibed knowledge by

residing with his teacher or guru as a part of his family. Life at the Gurukul was tough but at the end of their training it was seen that the students evolved into responsible individuals who were well learned and capable of facing the toughest challenges of life. Modern day education appears to be ignoring this important facet of learning.

If the job of a teacher is to help students to learn, he or she should take into account the emotional dimension of learning and work on it. The best teachers are those who can identify the changing emotional classroom environment and who have the ability to empathize, encourage and connect with students on an emotional level.

The Emotionally Intelligent Teacher

EDuCaTION

S ChandrasekarKrishna Priya

aPPROaCh

EThis is where emotional intelligence comes into play.

T h e r o o t s o f e m o t i o n a l intelligence can be traced back to 1920 when Thorndike, an influential psychologist in the areas of learning, education and intelligence, proposed the term social intelligence. Later on, Gardner introduced the concepts of intrapersonal and interpersonal in te l l igences in 1983 . His research focused on the idea that intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences are as important as the type of intelligence typically measured by IQ and related tests. The phrase “emotional intelligence” was first introduced by Salovey and Mayer in 1990 but the emotional intelligence construct was popularized by Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence:

The authors are Head of the Department and Research Scholar, Institute of Management in Kerala, University of Kerala, Thiruvanthapuram, respectively.

Including emotional

intelligence in teaching is ‘an idea

whose time has come’ and doing so will not only help in improving the education system but also help in reforming our

society


Why it can matter more than IQ in 1995. According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships”. Goleman points out that some individuals are born with a general emotional intelligence that determines their potential for learning emotional competencies. Emotional competencies are learned capabilities that must be worked on and developed to achieve outstanding performance. Hence emotional intelligence, unlike IQ, which varies little through life, can be learned.

Goleman’s model outlines four main emotional intelligence constructs such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management, with a set of emotional competencies within each construct. The first construct, self-awareness, is the ability to know one’s internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions, and forms the vital foundation for self-confidence. The second construct , self-management, involves controlling one’s emotions and impulses a n d a d a p t i n g t o c h a n g i n g circumstances. The third construct, social awareness, includes the ability to sense, understand and react to other’s emotions while comprehending social networks. Relationship Management, the fourth construct, entails the ability

to inspire, influence and develop others while managing conflict.

Carl Rogers wrote about what would now be called emotional intelligence in teachers, most notably in Freedom to Learn. He said that the teacher who exhibited the personal qualities of genuineness, empathy and acceptance with learners would, by that fact alone, bring about change in their learners. He saw procedures and techniques as less important than attitudes. Most teachers today however, do not actively recognize the role that emotional intelligence plays in their work. Very often we find that teachers who are themselves academically very sound, are not able to impart their knowledge effectively to their students. The reason is that they are not using emotional intelligence to relate to their students - for example, they may not be calling their students by name, or not recognizing and addressing the signs of boredom displayed by the students.

The goal of the emotionally intelligent teacher is to create a safer and more

satisfying, caring, and productive learning environment. A teacher needs to be aware of the concept of emotional environment which refers to the students’ overall experience of being in the classroom. The teacher should plan to create a positive emotional environment and give this as much attention as the contents and methods used. A good emotional environment helps

the students to make connections, explore and enquire. It also helps the students recognize the emotional dimension in their own learning and make them more likely to voice their feelings.

A teacher who wishes to bring about positive emotional states in students should take into account the physical state of the students - that is, their comfort/ discomfort in that session. The teacher will also have to deal with the students’ expectations, because this will have a bearing on how they are likely to behave, think and feel. Dealing with their expectations will help to prevent student energy from being wasted on unproductive emotions. Besides, the very act of acknowledging the students’ hopes, worries and so on will have a positive effect on how they feel and will pave the way for a productive relationship between the teacher and the students characterized by dialogue and the sharing of information.

An important method that can be used by the teacher to affect a student’s feelings for the better is to acknowledge the individual existence of each student. This is sometimes difficult in a group of students and can, leave them with an unsatisfactory sense of not belonging. Teachers can acknowledge the existence of the students by making eye contact, using students’ names as well as referring back to their previous contributions. This will help the students to maintain motivation


and engagement in their learning experience.

The emotionally intelligent teacher will go into a session just as ready to listen as to talk. There are very specific skills that the teacher can use as a listener such as paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, using open questions, managing silence and clarifying. Effective use of these skills requires giving full attention to the speaker and not being distracted by one’s own concerns. Advantages of using effective listening skills by the teachers include better understanding of the students’ perspective and tai loring the study material accordingly; fostering genuinely student-centred approaches, where the teacher’s role is to help students find answers and solutions independently and building a good relationship between the teacher and students.

Using emotional intelligence in teaching also involves reading, acknowledging and responding to the students’ feelings, especially negative ones. What teachers sometimes refer to as ‘difficult’ students may actually stem from the teacher’s inability or reluctance to acknowledge the student’s feelings. The emotionally intelligent teacher lets the students know that he recognizes that they have feelings, he is ready to accept and respond to their feelings and that it is alright to express those feelings. In doing so, the students feel valued and their learning improves.

Every time a student makes a comment or asks a question it should be considered as an opportunity for the teacher to use emotional intelligence in his response. In formulating a response, both the cognitive and the affective levels are to be considered. Here, the cognitive level means deciding to inform, clarify, agree, expand or correct whereas the affective level means deciding whether to have an effect on the feeling of the questioner and others. If handled well, the teacher’s response can improve the motivation of the individual and other students; affect the emotional environment for the better and clarify what kinds of questions or comments from students are acceptable.

Since self-awareness is at the heart of being emotionally intelligent, it is essential for

the teacher to have an awareness of his feelings at any moment in relation to teaching, awareness of his values and attitudes as a teacher, awareness of his teaching behaviors, of his non-verbal communication and awareness of how others see them. Such a quest for self-knowledge is perpetual because the self is always changing.

One of the most difficult aspects of developing self-awareness is to confront one’s prejudices. The emotionally intelligent approach begins by seeking to become aware of these prejudices. Then the teacher may be better equipped to spot the students who are likely to

provoke strong responses in him, favorable or unfavorable. Once the teacher recognizes that he may be contributing to unhelpful interactions, it will give him the motivation to review and change his way of communicating in order to avoid similar problems in the future. Thus if there is to be emotional intelligence in the classroom, there must be recognition and acceptance of both the teacher’s and the students’ emotional dimension.

Formal opportunities such as courses and training programmes to develop the use of emotional intelligence in teaching are also available.

An emotionally intelligent teacher can be an important role model for students. A confident, positive and receptive person, he would be better equipped to meet the needs of his students . If students perceive their teacher as a caring person who also respects their feelings, they would be more likely to respect him and learn from him.

Becoming an emotionally intelligent teacher is like embarking on a journey, since this is not an end in itself. Including emotional intelligence in teaching is ‘an idea whose time has come’ and doing so will not only help in improving the education system but also help in reforming our society. q

(E-Mail Id: [email protected]@gmail.com)


AWAN AGARWAL’S book, Indian Higher Education – Envisioning the Future is arguably the most comprehensive

work on higher education in the country. It is also the best so far and is destined to remain the standard work on the subject for some time to come.

It comes as no surprise to me that Pawan Agarwal has authored such a fine book. As Director in charge of Higher education in the Government of India, and later in the UGC, Pawan, for several years, was at the centre stage of higher education policy making – from formulation to review, financing and administration. He had the opportunity to distance himself, both mentally and physically, soon after completion of his tenure in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, through a Fulbright scholarship in USA. This enabled him to reflect on his experiences, look at global practices and evolve the understandings that are so well reflected in his book. This ‘distancing’ undoubtedly has enabled Pawan to take a terrifically objective view of the subject. Every aspect impacting on higher education is covered in this book;

bOOK REVIEW

TITLE : INDIaN hIghER EDuCaTION- ENVISIONINg ThE FuTuRE

Author : Pawan Agarwal

Page : 488 pages

Price : 895

ISBN : 978-81-7829-941-9

Publisher : Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2009

Higher education – Understanding the Issues

there is hardly an opinion in it, only analysis of very relevant data.

This book answers several questions – why are we lagging behind in higher education? Why are our funding and accreditation systems so cumbersome and what is the relevance of higher education for a country like India? Why do so many go overseas for higher education? How does the growing private participation in higher education impact on the higher education scene?

O n e o f t h e f a c t o r s o f underdevelopment is the lack of adequate mass in higher education compared to the size of our population. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) is 20 % and growing in China; all developed countries have GERs exceeding 50 %, with Korea at 91 % topping the list followed by the USA at 83. India with an 11 % GER is a laggard though in absolute numbers we are huge too. The gap is growing, especially vis a vis China. It should come as no surprise to us that China is doing better than us in every way – whether it is in filing patents ,or in research, or in the number of world class institutions it has, or in the number of students in higher education; the last , at 23 million plus, is double that of India and growing.

P


Pawan tackles the issue of reservation and affirmative action with objectivity and sensitivity. In fact he devotes a full chapter of his book to issues of access and equity and gives informed suggestions, based on global experiences, to help the disadvantaged access the best of institutions. While not challenging quota based reservations he does feel that there is a strong case for a ‘better policy design in affirmative action’ and feels that ‘ affirmative action should be based on providing equality and opportunity for higher education to all, based on merit and work towards a non-divisive casteless society’. Pawan incontestable contention is that the issue of affordability should be addressed too : ‘despite affirmative action, the students from poor families will continue to be deprived of educational opportunities due to rising costs of education at all levels’.

Pawan brings out the many hurdles that come in the way of rationalizing our higher education system; the funding aspect receives particularly detailed treatment as also issues of accreditation and recognition. The need for higher education and the difficulty in forecasting which aspect to focus, in terms of employment oppor tun i t i e s and na t iona l requirements, is well discussed and analyzed. The experience of developed countries in this regard has been well covered and as also the various forms of skills shortage that afflict our country, impacting on its development.

The poor position we occupy in research manpower is something that should alarm all of us – against China’s 708 researchers per million India has only 119; Japan tops with over 5000 and the United States follows with 4600. In a

technology driven world, India’s worrying inability to produce enough technologists and scientists is also alarming, especially when countries like China and Korea, which were way behind us a few decades ago, are well ahead of us now.

Unlike the US or now, China, India does not have an enabling environment - neither for the faculty nor the student. The fixed salary structures for faculty paints the best and the worst the same, while the inability of students to carry credits from one institution to another, creates needless barriers that have long gone in the best higher education system in the world. We have no equivalent of the Bologna Process that is radically changing the European higher education scene for the better with vastly improved systems encouraging student and faculty mobility, rewarding excellence and improving access to higher education across the continent.

What is painful to note is that the slowness of our decision making systems. These are making India lose out, to not just the advanced countries, but also China and Malaysia amongst several others; the ease with which best of foreign universities are facilitated to register their offshore units through collaborations and even entire campuses in such countries, contrast sharply with what is happening in India. If it surprises us that Pakistan can keep pace with us in certain areas of technology, we know from Pawan that , that country has been sending its students abroad on state sponsorship in a very big and innovative manner, much in the same way China used to.

Since independence, we have had a plethora of commissions and studies looking at higher

education, the latest being the National Knowledge Commission. These have contributed to a much better understanding of higher education in our country as can be seen from Pawan’s extensive research, very evident in his book, and vast experience.

Innovative funding, the use of technologies especially ICT amongst several other initiatives in the private and the public sector worldwide, are revolutionizing higher education , especially in the way knowledge is delivered. The blurring of borders is clearly evident with some of the best institutions in the world are setting up off-shore campuses; some Indian institutions have followed suit. These are very well discussed in the book, as also the role of institutions like the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) – all very well supported by appropriate data.

At nearly five-hundred pages, Indian Higher Educat ion – Envisioning the Future is not a large book on a subject that is so vast and so complex. The importance of Pawan Agarwal’s work lies in the fact that his is the most comprehensive work of its kind, backed by an astonishing amount of relevant data and outstanding analysis of every aspect of higher education in the country. All this make it a compulsory read for anyone interested, not just in higher education but also in India’s future. q

uday Balakrishnan

(E-mail : udaybalakrishnan@ gmail.com)

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