NEW DELHI: About a week ago, Jharkhand education minister Jagarnath Mahto, who discontinued his education after Class X, said he felt personally hurt at being called under-qualified and decided to pursue his education further. An analysis of the academic credentials of ministers of other states throws up some surprising numbers.
An analysis shows that 40% of all ministers are educated only up to school and throws up some surprising numbers. Kerala, which has the highest literacy rate in India, has over 30 per cent of its Cabinet comprising ministers who have discontinued education after school while 42% of them are graduates and only two per cent hold a doctorate, it says.
In contrast, Uttar Pradesh, whose literacy rate hovers around 70% , lesser than the national average of 74% , has nine per cent of its 44-member Cabinet who hold doctorates, while only 15 per cent of the ministers have listed schooling alone as their education. The percentage of graduate ministers, about 46% , is also higher than that of Kerala.States like Delhi and Uttarakhand have highly educated ministers. Of the Cabinet of the Kejriwal-led government, 71% ministers are graduates and the remaining are post-graduate holders. Uttarakhand on the other hand has 90 per cent of its Cabinet comprising graduates and the remaining 10 per cent are post graduates.
The Union Cabinet, with a strength of 56, has 14.2% of ministers who have just completed their schooling while more than half have listed their highest level of education as graduate. Around 27% of the ministers are post-graduates while 8% are doctorates.
The analysis also reveals that only seven of the 28 states have ministers who hold a doctorate. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the highest number of doctorate ministers with four each. Though there is no specific legal or moral requirement for elected representatives or ministers to have high level of education, analysts and educationists say that the Jharkhand minister’s enrolment for further studies is a step in the right direction and would have a ripple effect in the political system as well as forcing the voter to think before exercising his franchise.
“The step is definitely in the positive direction. This has sent out a message to the people of the country that one need not worry about age to pursue education. This message coming from a minister will percolate deeper into society,” Mukesh Bairva, a DU professor said.Another professor of a top engineering college echoed his views. “Mahto’s move is a very good step. Also, his call urging parents to get their children educated is a very good one. The next generation of aspiring voters will definitely be impacted by the minister’s move. The aspiring voter is a more thinking one and such steps will go a long way in spreading the message of importance of education in society,” she said.
Educational qualifications of top politicians have also stirred controversies in the past with the academic credentials of many leaders coming into question. Experts are hence cautiously positive about Mahto’s move. “It is a good step and sends out a correct message but a degree is no testament to education.
There is no rule that college or school dropouts can or cannot be good administrators or analysts. However, the message of learning is a good one. It may force some other leaders also to take similar steps,” political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay said. Jai Mrug, director of the Voter Mood Research said the Jharkhand Minister’s move can be interpreted in two ways. “It could either be branding and posturing for the electorate.
However, it will definitely cause a ripple effect and other leaders or elected representatives would follow suit. Also, the voter’s mind could be impacted by such a step. Here on, voters would cast their vote keeping in mind the education background of the candidate. This will result in more educated candidates getting elected,” he said. He added that the move is a good one despite there being no constitutional requirement of a certain level of education for elected representatives.