BENGALURU: A bold step forward on Indian education is simply not there and it is a big lacuna, said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. He was talking on the New Education Policy 2020 at a discussion hosted by Pratichi Trust on Saturday.
Countries which were ambitious about development understood the point of efficiency (of education) and its relation to public schooling, he said. The need for a network for public schools was recognised by 18th century Europe, then Japan, Korea, Taiwan and later on China, he added.
Anitha Rampal, educationist, questioned “what children will be pushed to which vocation as vocation remains tied to caste.” She also cautioned on centralizing of education that the policy envisages as the Centre would decide the curriculum.
Dr Ganesh Devy, founder of Adivasi Academy, pointed to a para of the policy where it explains what the orientation is — ‘ancient eternal’. “This is a phrase used to translate the word Sanathan... where teachers are at the centre ... and the policy does not give prominence to the culture of questioning,” he said.