ThinkEdu 2022: Congress and DMK spokespersons team up against BJP spokesperson, call NEP regressive

Saravanan Annadurai said that the BJP spokesperson has spoken about the past and hasn't come to the present and future yet.
Kaveree Bamzai in conversation with DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai (L) INC spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh (R) and Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP spokesperson (C). (Photo | R Satish Babu, EPS)
Kaveree Bamzai in conversation with DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai (L) INC spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh (R) and Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP spokesperson (C). (Photo | R Satish Babu, EPS)

CHENNAI: It was the battle of ideologies at the 10th edition of The New Indian Express' ThinkEdu Conclave with DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai and INC spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh teaming up against Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP in a discussion about 'Diversity in Action: Making Education Inclusive'.

Opening the discussion, Sudhanshu Trivedi said that they have received opinions from more than 2 lakh people regarding the National Education Policy, making it as inclusive as possible. We have also made way for the multi-disciplinary approach where a student gets a certificate after the first year in college, a diploma after the second and a degree in the later years.

Citing examples of inclusiveness of women in ancient India, he added, "We are the only culture where there were 20 women commentators for Vedic texts and wife of Mandana Mishra, Ubhaya Bhāratī, was the judge in the debate between the former and Adi Shankaracharya. Women had the authority to comment on the religious text only here."

Denying that there was any caste-based oppression in Tamil Nadu in the past, Trivedi said that based on the Chengalpet District Collectors report on April 7, 1823, every village of Madras presidency had a school.

"It was more than twice the amount of schools in London. The literacy rate was around 96 to 97 per cent. There were more than 4,888 students out of the 6000-odd students who were Shudras," he said.

Rebuking the claims, Saravanan Annadurai said that the BJP spokesperson has spoken about the past and hasn't come to the present and future yet.

"It is indicative of the National Education Policy. We are bothered about giving professional education to underprivileged children. The Gross Enrolment Ratio of Tamil Nadu (50 per cent) is twice the national average (26 per cent). We have had inclusive growth over the last 50 years. The Justice Party did away with the norm students need to know Sanskrit to learn Medicine. We made school education compulsory and brought in Communal GO which gave representation to Shudras in education and employment," he added.

"The BJP government in the 2022 Union Budget discontinued the National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education to promote the enrolment of girl child belonging to SC/ST communities," added Saravanan.

The NEP says that children have to take an entrance examination at the age of 10, failing which they can't attend regular classes which is unacceptable to me, he said, and added that the skill development programmes begin at the age of 16, 17 or 18 in the United States.

"While Sudhanshu Trivedi said that they received feedback from several people regarding the National Education Policy, they forgot to discuss it in Parliament which is the apex body of consultation and deliberation," said Prof Gourav Vallabh, INC spokesperson.

He added that the NEP is not addressing important issues such as improving the quality of education or teaching. Suddenly, it mentions it would promote digital education. However, how many students have access to the internet is not known. There is a digital divide as even urban areas don't have access to proper internet, he said.

He then questioned what features of the NEP make children more employable and improve the quality of learning. Defending his claims of digital penetration, Trivedi said that India is the second-biggest consumer of smartphones. We even surpassed the US and China in the consumption of data. Now, we are the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones as well, he mentioned. When questioned why the promise of spending 6 per cent of the GDP on education was not fulfilled yet, Trivedi alleged that the number of IITs, IIMs and even filing of patents has increased. Saravanan, taking another dig at the BJP, said, "In 2006, we decided to open a medical college in every district which is now being proposed by the Central Government."

He added, “The Dravidian model is a proven one. As Anna said in 1962, we have something to offer to the country.”

ThinkEdu 2022 is the grand tenth edition of what has consistently been India's biggest education conclave for a decade now. March 8 and 9 will see some stalwarts of India's academic, economic and political ecosystems bring ideas, ideologies and reflections on the past, present and future of India's education system.

The sessions will be viewed by a live audience, in addition to the 2,750 registered users on Conclave's digital space. Over the last nine years, the Conclave has seen some true stalwart thinkers such as former Presidents, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Pranab Mukherjee, MPs Jairam Ramesh, Smriti Irani, former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, NITI Aayog's CEO Amitabh Kant and spiritual guide Sadhguru.

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