Tread carefully Mr Sibal

Stakeholder consensus necessary for education reform

It is not easy undoing a dozen years of damage inflicted by two successive Union ministers for human resources development. Pity Mr Kapil Sibal. He has the dual task of reversing the bad decisions of both Mr Murali Manohar Joshi and Mr Arjun Singh and doing some good of his own. So, it is not surprising that Mr Sibal has been working at a scorching pace trying to overhaul India’s archaic educational system. Whether it is reviewing the board examination system, overhauling the higher education system, building links across borders, setting up model colleges in educationally backward areas, or setting up central universities in states where they do not exist, he is trying everything. Recent announcements relate to the Draft National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) Bill that calls for abolishing the University Grants Commission, All India Council of Technical Education and National Council of Teacher Education and establishing a seven-member NCHER that will oversee these functions. Reports are also being received for the development of a core science and math school curriculum across the country. Elementary and higher education, and skill development programmes need an open and decentralised environment supported by a non-constraining regulatory regime. And the country requires an educational system that promotes common benchmarks while encouraging decentralisation. But Mr Sibal would be well advised to consult all stakeholders and not be in too much of a hurry.

Ideas like a core national curriculum, a single central authority that has the sole responsibility over appointments of Vice Chancellors across all universities fly in the face of the principle of decentralisation and autonomy. They have the potential of centralising control in the hands of a few joint secretaries in the ministry, or worse, a corrupt educational administrator. What are the safeguards built in to prevent the abuse of power? What will ensure that decentralisation is encouraged not merely from Centre to state, but state to local governments as well? What will ensure that our educational establishments can function with autonomy not only from the political forces at the state level, but also from those at the Central level? These are important questions if educational reforms are to be sustained.

A sustainable educational reform package needs to be built around consensus, decentralisation and minimum common benchmarks. Post-1991 India has had enough experiences where non-consensus-based approaches led to desirable changes, only to be withdrawn later. The educational establishment, with its lobbies and pressure groups, is politically sensitive and highly susceptible to rearguard action by entrenched forces. This is the core reason why significant reforms have so far eluded the educational sector in India. Mr Sibal would do well to focus more on advocacy and build a consensus around his ideas. Consensus would be only possible if he is able to promise that the principles of decentralisation and autonomy are not sacrificed in our desire to improve quality.