A bogus controversy

Questions about PM's education should now end

Anyone in the human resources department of a large company knows that people falsifying their resumes is an ever-present danger, and something to watch out for when scrutinising job applications. The relatively harmless fudging takes the form of exaggerating claims with regard to achievements, or one's role in a team effort. The more serious infringements, which should be a disqualification anywhere, involve false claims with regard to formal qualifications. This happens not just in companies but also with professionals like doctors: the number of people dispensing medical advice and writing prescriptions, but who have only fake degrees, is legion. Why, even Mukesh Ambani felt the need to claim a management degree though he had dropped out mid-way to return home and build a petrochemical complex.

It is no different in politics - as everyone now knows. Smriti Irani made one claim in an official filing, and modified it in another. So did Sonia Gandhi with regard to where and exactly what she had studied in Cambridge. Ministers in the Aam Aadmi Party's government in Delhi have been caught out in similar fashion. In some of these instances, cases are making their way through the courts because false declarations by a candidate standing for electoral office can invite very serious consequences.

This backdrop makes clear why the to-do about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualifications gained some currency, but it has the makings of a bogus controversy. Well before he became the Gujarat chief minister in 2002, Mr Modi had said in a television interview that he had only finished school when he left home at the age of 17. However, he had subsequently done his graduation from Delhi University and his post-graduation from Gujarat University, both as an external candidate. As he put it, he got his degrees without entering the portals of any university. The evidence that has been made available now supports those claims of 15 years ago. There the matter should rest, except for making the point that Mr Modi should have been more upfront on the issue when it was first raised.

The more important point worth noting in this needless controversy is how much the desire for education drives those who were not fortunate enough to get it early in life. Long after he became a supremely successful businessman, Dhirubhai Ambani used to confess to regret over not having got a formal education. Mr Modi registered for his BA course when he was well past the age at which most university students have already graduated. He then registered for an MA course when he was in his 30s. This evident desire for, and pursuit of, knowledge is commendable - especially since Mr Modi had chosen a field of activity in which formal educational qualifications were not a pre-requisite. The message for policy-makers is that opportunities for learning in later life should be made easily available. Especially in an age when rapid changes in the nature of work make continuing education an imperative, the country should facilitate this through more open universities and correspondence courses, and also make high-quality lectures available on internet networks.