The Sunday Standard

BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, Jharkhand oppose idea of PM-led Education Commission

Sumi Sukanya Dutta

NEW DELHI: Several states, including some BJP-ruled ones like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, have objected to a significant proposal in the draft National Education Policy to set up a National Education Commission or Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog under the Prime Minister’s chairmanship.

The draft NEP prepared by a committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Kasturirangan has said the proposed Commission “will be responsible for developing, articulating, implementing, evaluating and revising the vision of education in the country on a continuous and sustained basis”.

Many had hailed the proposal saying that an Education Commission directly under the PM will help bring the political attention the field requires. But it seems there are a few takers for this suggestion.

Sources in the HRD Ministry told this newspaper that in a recent meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education called to discuss the draft NEP, education ministers of several states vetoed the recommendation to set up the Commission.

“Surprisingly, some BJP governed states such as UP and Jharkhand spoke against the proposal most vehemently,” a senior HRD official said.

“They were of the view that the PM at the helm of the Commission is a bad idea as then the Commission will meet very infrequently and hence will not serve any real purpose,” another official present in the meeting said. “Also states feel that the Commission would not be representative enough.”

The draft NEP which is likely to be finalised by next month has said that the Commission, whose vice-chairperson would be HRD minister, will have 20-30 members.

Membership will include some Union ministers in rotation, whose ministries impact education directly (such as health, women and child development, finance), the NEP says. It further suggests that at least half of the members will be eminent educationists and professionals from various fields.

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