Brothers and Sisters,
Education was the priority in the eleventh five year plan (2007-2012). In this our efforts were directed toward significantly reforming and building on the National Education Policy of 1986. As per the plan, 2.70 lakh crore rupees which constitute 20% of the plan expenditure were allocated for the education sector. The objectives of the plan include the reduction of dropout rates of children from elementary schools from 52.2% in 2003-2004 to 20% by 2011-2012, increase literacy rate to 85%, lower the gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage points and increase the higher education intake from the present 10% to 15%.
The setting up of National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and the implementation of the Right to Education Act (RTE Act, 2009) are integral to the educational initiatives of the UPA Government. The recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission are integrated into the eleventh plan and implementation is underway at the State and National level. The RTE Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between 6 and 14, first of its kind in the world that puts the responsibility to send the children to schools on the Government. The Act also specifies 25% of seats in the private schools reserved for disadvantaged children.
I strongly feel that in the context of the changes and possibilities opened up by Information Technology in the field of education, we got to radically redefine our understanding of literacy. I admit that we are falling short of our target of 85% in this plan period, but we have made a significant stride in reducing the gender gap in literacy from 21% in 2001 to 16% in 2011. But even then the parameters of literacy have to be extended to accommodate computer knowledge and vocational skills to exercise the knowledge acquired in class rooms. I believe that rigid compartmentalization of knowledge and standard distinctions of the curricular and co-curricular may not take us further. The demarcation of the muscular nervous activity and the intellectual activity is regressive in this sense. The overriding primacy given to the latter got to be discouraged. Children should be encouraged to develop their aptitude in sports. A healthy society produces healthy athletes and sportsmen.
So we have to consciously try erasing these sharp contours to inculcate a holistic understanding of knowledge in our young minds. This becomes extremely important in the primary and secondary levels. Teachers have to play an important role in this. Their task is never easy as they are trying to deal with a heterogeneous group of young minds. The teacher empowerment programs as part of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (‘Education for all’ program) impart IT oriented ways of learning and aims to equip our teachers to meet the diverse demands arising out of a heterogeneous student community. Towards the attainment of the same we have to periodically review and strengthen our curriculum.
The National Education Policy of 1986 complimented the economic reforms of 1991 encouraging emerging sectors like Information Technology. The private capital in the technical education sector led to capacity expansion in the private sector. But we have to think whether the benefits have reached everybody. The menace of capitation fee is plaguing the private education sector making quality education the privilege of a few particularly in the medical and technical education sector. How to bring about qualitative changes in this area is a big challenge that we have to take up.
This also raises the question of genuine research. We got to introspect whether genuine research is happening in our Universities. Earlier policies put larger emphasis on research in the sciences. Research in arts and the social sciences need strong financial backing from the government. The thrust should be equally placed on research in Humanities as well. Like the IITs and IIMs we have to have Centers’ of Excellence in the Arts and Social Sciences. The twelfth five year plan seeks to put equal emphasis on research in the Sciences and Humanities. We have to transform our Universities from being centers of learning to knowledge production centers.
We have to ensure that our education system is more inclusive ensuring equality of opportunity to all. The government looks forward to intervene and fix the discrepancies in this sector through negotiations and strong legislations. This intervention is imperative given the fact that we have six hundred million youth under the age of 25 and the number is expected to grow until 2050. It is in this regard, to cater to a growing population of youth that the Central Universities Act was passed in 2009. Under the act, 12 Universities have come to function in those states that did not have a Central University. The Central Universities thus established have state wide jurisdiction to establish its campus and centers significantly contributing to the educational demands of the state as well. My Government would encourage programs that ensure the participation and capacity building of the community. These centres of excellence are expected to usher in a new era of scholarship and tap the vast potential of youth into productive learning. The National Education Commission that we propose to establish will look at all the issues pertaining to primary, secondary and higher education. Its recommendations will pave the way for a new National Educational Policy. I believe that all the issues I raised on education will come under their consideration.
High literacy rate presupposes the upliftment of all spheres of the society. Therefore it is a huge challenge in front of us. Because I believe that for effective and universal literacy, food security and access to other basic amenities such as drinking water and electricity are absolutely necessary. In this sense literacy has close links with other socio-economic problems like hunger, poverty, malnutrition, child labor etc. it is only after responding to these fundamental problems constructively that we can confidently approach the larger issues of caste, gender equality, freedom of speech, and other relevant human rights concerns. So in order to increase the effective literacy rate and to reduce the gender gap in literacy, we need to first ensure the right to life and livelihood resources to all citizens of this nation irrespective of religion, caste, gender and political affiliation.
written by satchin,mary,anu
