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Ambitious educational plan may hit roadblock |
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The ambitious plan announced by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on June 25 as part of the Government’s 100 day agenda may face opposition not only from the BJP and the left, but also from within the Congress. Under the plan announced by Sibal, a Right to Education Bill will be introduced, minority education will be reformed and there will be a body to look after higher education.
In a significant move, Sibal said that his objective is to have one board in the country for holding the Class XII examination while the Class X examination would be made optional. The attempt, he said, is to de-stress education. The Minister said that the Government also plans to have Grades instead of percentages to define a student’s merit.
Reports say that the BJP and the Left are going to oppose the Government’s move.
It will be an uphill task to evolve consensus on the educational agenda set out by Kapil Sibal.
On behalf of the BJP, former Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said that the proposed reforms are “directionless, illogical, and impractical.” He said the states have not been consulted by Sibal even though education is in the Concurrent List. Joshi said: “This is a federal government, a federal constitution. States have rights. Every state has different requirements and problems in education, especially in primary and secondary education.”
Joshi accused the Government of failing to provide free and universal education to those up to 14 years of age and instead allowing foreign investment in education in India.
The Left parties have said that Sibal’s game plan appears to be to privatize education wholesale in the guise of reforms.
There are reports that even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is said to be backing the educational agenda announced by Kapil Sibal, there is unease in the Congress on the proposals. Sources in the party said that the Minister should have held consultations within the organization and taken the top brass into confidence. They also felt that some of the reforms were not doable and there was opposition to it from various quarters.
The DMK, a constituent of the ruling UPA, has expressed displeasure at the announcement.
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