NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan speaks on a host of issues including education, politics and skill development at the Express Dialogues Odisha Chapter event in Bhubaneswar.
You recently announced a corrected version of history will be taught to students from Basant Panchami, which is a few days away. Will new history books be introduced and the old ones scrapped right away?
I have been misquoted. Two things. one of the major recommendations of national Education Policy (NEP) is a new curriculum and a new curriculum leads to new syllabus and textbooks. it is a regular process of NCERT and Education department of government of India. By Basant Panchami on January 26 and Pariksha Pe Charcha on January 27, we will publish textbooks for Balvatika 1, 2 and 3 besides Class 1 and 2 which is the first cohort of five years, the foundational segment of school education. in fact, this is for the first time in NEP that we are formalising the pre-school aspect in the formal school
mechanism.
We are not rewriting history but trying to expand the canvas of history. There was a misrepresentation of my view. The textbooks will be available from the next academic session. According to UGC statistics, only 20.4 per cent colleges in India have NAAC accreditation, a mandatory component.
Nearly 68 per cent of colleges are not even recognised under Section 2(f) of UGC Act.
How does the Ministry of Education plan to improve the quality of this overwhelming proportion of poor quality institutes in the next one decade?
Yes, there are issues. But we cannot say colleges not coming to AAC are of poor quality. Every educational institute in the country is not coming for the accreditation process and some high ranking institutes are undermining the process. Some institutions are not aware about it. But, there is an emerging trend in the country with many institutions wanting to join accreditation. We cannot judge every institution on a single parameter. NEP has recommended bifurcation wherein there will be a Higher Education Commission of India.
There will be four autonomous verticals which will be in charge of regulations, standard setting for academia, accreditation of institutions and courses. With all these processes, there will be a ranking framework in place.
The UGC recently drafted rules to allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India. With NEP, can we hope that poor students can also get a scope to study in such universities?
Today, the gross enrollment ratio in higher education is 27 per cent and in the next few years, we have targeted to reach 50 per cent. We have to increase the number of students, the quality of education, employability, align education with global trends and create more entrepreneurs.
The challenge is how we do that. The answer is through best practices, more research and more quality education. our interest is how the poorest of the poor students will get affordable/free/quality
education.
The BBC has released a documentary on PM Narendra Modi which has caused a furore. What is
your reaction?
I feel that it is not against PM Modi. it is against India. A lot of people are unable to digest the fact that India has become number fifth economy in the world. it is creating a ripple in their mind as to how India, despite several challenges, is managing its economy, keeping inflation in control and maintaining the growth trajectory, which is around 7per cent.
How those who have ruled us for centuries, creating discrimination, can accept India’s emergence. So definitely it is not against PM Modi, it is against India. However, the faith of people is enough for us
(“When faith is there. it is sufficient”). The entire globe has accepted India’s empowerment under the leadership of Prime Minister narendra Modi.
What are your views on Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra? Will it bring electoral gains for Congress?
As we know from the Congress friends and those who have come out of the party, there is a feeling in Congress party that there is a total disconnect of Rahul Gandhi’s persona with reality. Some of his typical advisers must have advised him that if he wants to stay relevant he has to do something. So in order to retain his hold, the shrinking hold in his party, he is doing this exercise. I feel that with all these exercises he may enrich himself with experience. But the kind of behaviour, words and narrative he has developed in this process, I don’t see any substantial outcome from his Yatra. it is just a vacuum.
Congress party is a failed idea. They have been reduced to a mere physical organisation. When this boat will sink it will sink gradually. However, the process of its sinking has started in faster pace now. The poor and down trodden of this country are standing in solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.