 |
|
| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
|
Privatisation is not the cure
‘De-educate’ the education system
Campus NoteS
|
|
|
Privatisation is not the cure RECENTLY, a report published in a section of media said “the Punjab Government is working overtime to give final touches to a policy allowing private players to set up universities in the state”. The report is based on the proceedings of a meeting of a ‘high-level committee’ set up by the state government to formulate a ‘policy guideline’ for the establishment of private universities. However, as a member of the committee, I find the report somewhat tendentious. Privatisation is not a concept which is ethically neutral, it is an article of faith which is central to the process of globalisation. Punjab desperately needs funds and would naturally welcome offers that supplement its development programmes, particularly in the fields of education and health care which are generally treated as ‘non-productive’ while computing the state income. What should concern the state is where to draw a line between the public and the private enterprise. Education and health care are two core areas from which the state can't withdraw its presence without harming the interests of marginalised sections of society. Therefore, the first task is to consider carefully the main parameters within which a socially useful decision is possible. Here are some suggestions: the government should weigh carefully the impact of educational programmes included in the proposals on the level of employment in the state. The estimates of employment growth for the Quinquennium ending 2007 for 15 major states, released by the Planning Commission sometime ago, indicate that not only Punjab is right at the bottom in terms of employment generation but it also adding 1.35 per cent of its annual labour force growth to the large backlog of already existing unemployed persons. Science, technology, management and medicine appear to be the main areas of study which have a comparative advantage in generating skills and jobs. But since these areas are also cost-intensive, the state urgently needs a manpower forecast, which at present it does not have, to balance demand and supply for all such disciplines for a sufficiently long period. This is a methodological requirement which no state can do without. When new educational policy was released by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986, he left no one in doubt that vocational and technical education can’t be managed without a clear perspective. Two, the government must look into the motives of the interested parties in seeking permission to set up private universities. As at present, there appear to be three main types of organisations that could perhaps be interested in such a venture: business houses, religious foundations and voluntary organisations, including NRIs. It will be naive to believe that the main motive of business houses is philanthropic and not making money. It will, therefore, be proper for the government to include in their charter suitable checks against all kinds of unethical practices which directly or indirectly tend to exploit students, teachers and employees. Capitation fee and levies for the utilisation of facilities without which educational programmes can’t be effectively pursued are some of the practices that fall in this category and are widely rampant. Insofar as religious foundations are concerned, their primary aim is to protect their cultural and ethnic interests besides providing quality education for the members of their community. The state’s charter must include a provision for punitory action if the educational programmes and activities of sponsored institutions harm in some way India’s diverse, pluralistic and secular culture. Three, what catchment area is aimed at by the promoters of the university and will its programmes cater to the needs of children from the marginalized and unattended sections of the society? Four, how much experience does the sponsoring society or trust have in the field of higher education? The information thus provided should be got appraised at the expert level by a specialist who is capable of anticipating trends likely to emerge in the state in the coming years. Under1ining this aspect, Mr Justice R. S. Pathak, former Chief Jusice of India, once observed: “Educational policy cannot be left to the sole wisdom of the politician and the bureaucrat; the one may be tempted by considerations of party advantage and the other by lack of experience in the field.” Five, do educational programmes contemplated to be undertaken by the proposed university contain a provision for moral education, even as a minor subject? The University Education Commission headed by S. Radhakrishnan considered moral education as an essential component of ideal education and the Commission on Education and National Development headed by D.S. Kothari as a vital force in India’s quest for overall progress. Six, although private and public sectors have a complementary role to play in providing and financing higher education, experience shows that much of enrolment in private sector institutions tends to be of children from elitist groups of society. This has to be balanced against the fact that they also help in absorbing excess demand for job-oriented courses. The foregoing safeguards are not intended to discourage private initiative in higher education but to make sure that higher education does not fall into the hands of those whose sole motive is to make profits through political patronage. What the state needs is not only a policy guideline for the establishment of private universities but a detailed plan covering all types of institutions, including those with foreign links. The writer is a former Vice-Chancellor of
Punjabi University, Patiala |
|
|
‘De-educate’ the education system THE term ‘de-education’ may appear to be new, but the concept is not. Having both negative and positive sides like all theories, it has been used, though not quite often, by almost all imaginative artists rather positively. For, to enter into creative forays and set new standards, all artists have had to ‘unlearn’, or ‘de-educate’ themselves from the copybook scholastic styles. The following examples perhaps would portray the concept’s negative abilities clearly: Chandigarh is one of the most literate cities in the country. From the very beginning, local schools teach their students, apart from hoard of other things, lessons on road safety and traffic rules. Schoolchildren are also taken to the well laid-out local Traffic Park. A number of exhibitions, seminars, painting competitions, debates, and paper reading/writing contests are also held in this regard. This is an added mode of educating people as well as children on road safety, yet we face chaos on all our roads. What fails all ‘educating’ efforts is not difficult to gauge. Since most of the teaching traffic laws are not based on practical paradigm, they leave a little or no impact on one’s mind. On the contrary, children get ‘de-educated’ on the subject very quickly whenever their helmetless ‘hurried’ parents carry them to schools on their precariously loaded two-wheelers and jump the red-light with intrepid impunity. Apart from getting ‘de-educated’ from what they had studied academically about road safety rules, they learn to disregard the law and an unforgettable lesson in general disobedience and indiscipline. Recently, a number of girl students of a Patiala-based college failed to complete their mandatory attendance requirement. However, through an agitation, the students made Punjabi University authorities bow to their unprincipled demand for scraping the university’s prescribed attendance norm, which of late appears to have become an integral part of college and university curricula. By yielding to such an unjust demand, what Punjabi University has ‘taught’ the students can well be termed as ‘de-education’. Unfortunately, today’s progressive way of life, supported by frosty but progressing figures of growth rates, has given birth to a confusingly complex society. Being full of contradictions, our ill-coordinated education system perhaps has caused this social chaos. While at every new step we provide incongruous and self-defeating learning practices to our naturally bemused youngsters, the ever-busy parents, particularly in nucleus families, expecting lofty results put the onus of providing every part of their children’s education, from academic to that of socio-moral behaviour, upon their teachers. On the other hand, a laidback academic attitude crowned by lesser working days is provided to these students when they move onwards to join institutions of so-called ‘higher’ education. The obvious end-result turns out to be that of totally confused, disorganised and often-disobedient children and their equally disgruntled parents. Also, formal schools generally are overcrowded and have insufficient infrastructure. These schools load children with literally heavy academic lessons that generally are irrelevant and thus incomprehensible to them. The formal system culminates at colleges and universities having equally impractical academic approach. A mushroom growth of Ph.D ‘scholars’ clearly demonstrates similar futile educational irrationalities that have been projected above. Thus, all our educational efforts, both formal and informal, need to be placed in conformity with our practical social requirements. A ruggedly rational education system, having logical consistencies without contradictions, perhaps can save our society from the clutches of lethal consumerism. The government has allocated more funds for the improvement of education in the current budgetary provisions, which is surely a right step. However, unless our existing pattern of education is ‘de-educated’ to pave the way for a well-coordinated teaching system, based on practical paradigms, things would not change much.
|
|
|
Campus NoteS A five-day training programme on 'Research Methodology in Social Sciences' was organised on the premises of Maharshi Dayanand University
(MDU) from March 24 to 28. Prof S. C. Arora from the Department of Public Administration at the university coordinated the event. The programme was conducted by the North-Western Regional Centre
(Panjab University, Chandigarh) of the Indian Council of Social Science Research
(ICSSR). Prof Ashok Mathur, former Dean (Academic) at Jawaharlal Nehru University
(JNU), New Delhi, delivered the keynote address in the inaugural session of the
programme. Prof G. K. Chadha, member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, presided over the valedictory session. The MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof R. P.
Hooda, was the guest of honour. Various aspects of research methodology and related issues were discussed during the training
programme. Research scholars declared eligible Fifteen research scholars have been declared eligible for the award of Ph.D degree by the MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof R. P.
Hooda, on the recommendations of the Board of Examiners and Research Committee. These research scholars include Manu
Dahiya, Anita Kumari and Ramesh Kumar (Department of Hindi); Arun Kumar (Department of English); Ashok Kumar, Anupam Kurlwal and Baru Ram (Department of Law); Seema (Department of Chemistry); Jas Kiran Sachdeva (Department of Commerce); Anil Kumar and Deepti Hooda (Department of Psychology); Ombir Singh (Department of Economics); Suman Ahlawat (Department of Education); and Kuldeep and Kuldeep Singh (Department of Physical Education). Technical workshop A technical workshop was organised at the Department of Computer Science and Applications of MDU recently. Puneet
Rana, a software consultant from Ariscent Technologies, was the resource person on the occasion. He gave a presentation on the use of JAVA and other technical aspects of software development. Dr Nasib Singh Gill, Head, Department of Computer Science and Applications, said the workshop aimed at upgrading the technical and software skills of the students. —
Contributed by Sunit Dhawan
|
|
|
Armed Forces Indian Navy, INS Kunjali, Colaba, Mumbai 400005 (Mah) www.nausena-bharati.nic.in Sailors for MR (Musician) -2/2008 Batch Eligibility: Unmarried Indian males; Class 10 proficient in music with theoretical knowledge & practical skill on any instrument. Selection: Preliminary Screening Test; Physical Fitness Test; Medical Test Application Form: Download from website. Details: Employment News (22 – 28 March 2008) / Website Application Deadline: 21 April 2008 Indian Army, Army Education Corps, Independent Rect Office, Delhi Cantt 110010 Recruitment of Havildar Education (Group ‘X’ & ‘Y’) in Army Educational Corps
1) Science Stream (159 posts) Eligibility: For Group ‘X’: BA, BEd / BSc, BEd / MA, BEd / MSc, BEd
For Group ‘Y’: BA / BSc (without BEd) Male candidate with working knowledge of English / Hindi with 2 subjects from the following list For 1: BSc: Maths / Physics / Chemistry / Botany / Zoology / Electronics / Computer Science For 2: BA: English / Hindi / Urdu Literature / History / Geography / Political Science / Economics / Psychology / Maths / Sociology. Selection: Screening; Physical Fitness Test; Written Exam: 27 July 2008; Teaching Aptitude Test / Interviews. Application Form: Send in prescribed format with all required documents and 2 self-addressed stamped registered envelopes giving your address to the respective Headquarters Recruiting Zones of domicile. Superscribe “Application for Havildar Education” on the envelope. Application Deadline: 10 May 2008 Art & Design Symbiosis Institute of Design, Viman Nagar, Pune 411014 (Mah)
www.symbiosisdesign.ac.in / www.set-test.org Bachelor of Design (Communication / Product / Fashion / Fashion Communication) 4 years, FT Eligibility: 10+2 (50%) Selection: Symbiosis Entrance Test: 03 May 2008; Statement of Purpose; Studio Test; Interview Application Form: Send Rs 1300/- by DD favouring “Symbiosis Institute of Design” to the above address / download from website. Details: Website. Registration Deadline: 19 May 2008 Arts Performing Film & Television Institute of India, Law College Road, Pune 411004
(Mah) www.ftiindia.com A) Courses in Film & Television B)
Courses in Television Eligibility: Bachelors Degree Selection: For 1, 2, 4 & 5: Admission Test: 25 May 2008; For 3: Admission Test: 22 June 2008; Interview: 24 June 2008. Application Form: Send Rs 910/- by DD favouring “Accounts Officer, Film & Television Institute of India” drawn on SBI / Indian Bank, payable at Pune at the above address / download from website. Details: Employment News (22 – 28 March 2008) / Website Application Deadline: 21 April 2008 Engineering Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Azad Hind Fauj Marg, Sector 3, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078 MTech: (Signal Processing / Information Systems / Process Control) (Full Time / Part Time) Application Form: Download from website. Details: Employment News (22 – 28 March 2008) / Website Application Deadline: 30 April 2008 University Institute of Information Technology (UIIT), Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171005 (HP) www.hpuiitshimla.org BTech: IT (4 years) Eligibility: 10+2 (Physics & Maths) (50%). Selection: Entrance Test: 18 June 2008 Application Form: Send Rs. 1100/- by DD favouring “UIIT, H P University, Shimla 171005”, payable at Shimla to above address / download from website Details: Website Application Deadline: 31 May 2008 Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala 147004 (Punj) (Deemed University) BE / BTech / MCA / MSc / ME / MTech / PhD Programmes 2008-09 Selection: Entrance Test; Interview Details: Website Application Deadline: For BE / BTech: 25 May 2008
For LEET: 10 June 2008 For MPhil: 24 April 2008 For MCA / MSc (Biotech): 26 May 2008 For MSc (Phy / Chem / Maths): 13 June 2008
For ME / MTech / PhD: 25 June 2008
— Pervin Malhotra
|
