State thinks twice, acts unwise on education

[Praba]

From the officials mouth we now know that the government has deferred the introduction of Right to Education Act (REA) in the current session of the parliament. Apart from the criticisms coming in from different corners of the country, the state itself finds difficult to mobilize the ambitious Rs one lakh crore required for the free and compulsory primary education for all. Just for the heck of popularity and to show the fulfillment of the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance in paper, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) tried to introduce this act in this parliament session. Without any home work and hard work, the ministry tried to clear the act. When opposition arose and financial prospects were dim, the ministry pulled back. This is another classic case of government’s hushy-bushy efforts of development. Smart way of getting the social issues done is far away from the corridors of Indian power elites.

Without analysing the rationale of past failures, MHRD steps into the same old bureaucratic shoes which are not fitting the common people’s heels. Given the high rate of corruption and lethargy, more government programme means less development. The amount of time consumed in fulfilling the primary constitutional obligation is extremely high. The track record of previous efforts of the state is dim. Fifty eight years and still thirty percent of illiteracy is indeed a very bad performance. The table below shows the dead slow pace of education development in the country.

Table: 1

Literacy Growth in India

Year Persons Male Female
1951 (a) 18.33 27.16 8.86
1961 (b) 28.31 40.40 15.34
1971 (c) 34.45 45.95 21.97
1981 (d) 43.56 56.37 29.75
(41.42) (53.45) (28.46)
1991 (e) 52.21 64.13 39.29
2001(f) 65.38 75.85 54.16

(a) Excluding the population of Jammu & Kashmir, Pondicherry and the then NEFA, Dadar & Nagar Haveli and Goa, Daman and Diu.
(b) Excluding Goa, Daman & Diu, and the then NEFA.
(c) Paper 2 of 1983 series I.
(d) Excluding Assam.
(e) Excluding Jammu & Kashmir.
(f) Census of India -2001(Series 1) Provisional Population Totals (Paper 1 of 2001)
Source: National Literacy Mission
http://www.nlm.nic.in/tables/scenario.htm

If India keeps on thinking about the ways and means for elimination of basic literacy, it will be pushed to another major literacy divide – digital divide which is going to be the decisive factor in the future. It is important to analyse the past mistakes. After deeper introspection of the past mistakes, the government should not repeat the old flaws. It should get the future calculations correct. For this, novel ways and means should be discovered and implemented.

With all due credit given to the state in the educational development so far, it is high time to create competition in the provision of education. Allowing more players to enter the education field will naturally ensure quality and cheap price. This is evident from the engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Karanataka and Maharastra. Initially everyone pitched in tents to start an engineering college. With one room set, an engineering college started functioning to milk money from the poor and rich alike. But that was a minor hitch in the major revolution in the engineering education. When the days passed by, poor performers got automatically eliminated. Like this, new streams of education can take off in the right direction. Just government need to create competition by allowing private organizations to open up schools and colleges for profit.

When the competition is high, the education service providers cannot impose fees of their desire. Recognising the contributions of people and allowing them to enjoy the benefits of their hard work will eliminate this unwanted problem. In simple words, the government should remove restriction on education - not for profit. It is high time that the government removes the mask behind its real face. Money making in the name of education provision is a reality around the country. Big sharks escape from the government net because of their sheer size of wealth and political clout. But only the poor small fishes which wanted to survive get caught. To save these small fishes from the bureaucratic hassles and allow quality to play the best role, education should be given an industry status. This will boost up the literacy development in a quicker pace and help India to achieve the ultimate ambition – fully educated nation.[/list]