The proposal to set up an autonomous national testing agency to conduct entrance exams for higher education is a welcome step. But its implementation will be a Herculean task. Many countries like the US have similar testing agencies. But in India, there are different kinds of tests for admission to colleges, universities, specialised courses and different testing principles. The syllabus also varies from state to state. Hence, to set up a single agency to conduct exams will be difficult. The government should take time and implement it in stages.
The proposal to introduce a system of measuring annual learning outcome in schools is a worthy decision. But in practice, it won't be all that easy. Learning outcome, outcome-based education, all these things are talked about for years. But we don't have an education policy. If we did, this would have become an integral part of it. Hence, this will be more like a political statement in a budget, and it doesn't hold water. Eventually, they would not know who is going to implement it. They should start from the national education policy, where outcome-based education and flexibility of syllabus must be introduced and implemented thoughtfully.
By bringing in reforms in the UGC and bestowing administrative and academic autonomy on good quality institutions, the government is planning to introduce what is called a ‘world-class university’. They want to select 10 universities each in private and public sectors and give them academic autonomy. This is a welcome step. But the focus should be on implementation. In Indian scenario, around 80 per cent of institutions comes under the state governments. The states have absolute control over these institutions and they exercise it right from the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to the appointment of clerks. So, there will be tremendous political intervention in admissions and selection of faculty.
M Anandakrishnan
Former Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kharagpur
(The writer is also the former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University)