M A I N   N E W S

The Last Word
kapil sibal
The man in a hurry
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 18
“Wait ? Wait for what ? We have waited long enough,” says an impatient Kapil Sibal (62) with a grimace. The Union Human Resources Development Minister is clearly in a hurry and not afraid of tripping. In a short span, Sibal has done enough to prompt both cheers and jeers.

Breezy is the word that best describes the man, who was among the first batch of students to pass out of St. John’s High School in Chandigarh. And on Thursday he was breezing from one meeting to another when The Tribune caught up with him. On Friday he unveils India’s first national curriculum for teachers’ education--towards preparing professional and humane teachers.

His efforts have evoked mixed feelings. “ For long, education was all about politics. We are seeing reform for the first time,” says Manav Chavan, founder of Pratham. But a Delhi University don strikes a note of caution. “ Sibal is moving too fast, too soon.” Bureaucrats are intimidated by him and confess they find it hard to keep pace with the minister. Sibal, after all, had cleared the coveted IAS examination but had declined to join the service. After Arjun Singh’s, his predecessor in the ministry, tamer tenure, Sibal’s presence has galvanised the babus.

The seasoned Harvard graduate defends with a straight bat. Asked how he expected the controversial Foreign Universities Bill to overcome the opposition from the Left and the BJP, he said, “ It will be a shame if we deny our children an opportunity of quality education. Once the political parties read the law, they will realise it is in national interest.”He agreed that no OBC quota would be available in the new, foreign institutes. Nor would there be a separate regulator for foreign entrants. “ Foreign universities will have to get mandatory accreditation from a national body, for which the law is coming,” he explained.

Only 12 per cent of school students now enter college and Sibal underscores the need to take it up to 30 per cent by the 2020. “ We need many more institutions, Indian and foreign, public and private..it’s time we opened up,” shaking his head and itching to close old chapters so as to open new ones.

How he ensures quality education is what his critics are waiting to see. After all, studies suggest that 76 per cent of class V students cannot solve sums meant for class II. From where will the teachers come ? Will laws create better teachers ? The questions pour in thick and fast but Sibal is unfazed.

His crowning glory as the HRD minister was the passage of Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which comes into force in April, less than a fortnight from now. On Monday this week the man persuaded the Union cabinet to clear the Foreign Educational Institutions --Entry and Operation Regulation Bill, 2010. And on Friday he expects the UPA top brass to clear three more Bills.

These include a law to prevent educational malpractices. Another legislation provides for mandatory assessment and accreditation in higher educational institutes while the third seeks to set up a national tribunal for fast-tracking the adjudication of disputes. He has, however, not made much headway in relation to three other Bills. Consultations, he admits, are still on for setting up a regulator for higher education, amendments to Copyright Act and to modify the Central Madrassa Board.

Meanwhile, he has pushed examination reforms. Class X students across the country appearing in Board examinations this year are going to be assessed in grades and not given marks. From next year they will have the option of taking the Board examination or leave it.

Another of his controversial moves was the recommendation to de-recognise 44 deemed universities, an issue which is being adjudicated in the court. But Sibal is firm in claiming that the students’ interests would be protected.

So has Sibal swallowed more than he could chew? There are concerns about how the states would enforce the Right to Education Act. Where is the money, some of the states have started wailing. But the minister rubbishes such concerns with disdain. “ The 13th Finance Commission has given us Rs 25,000 crore for five years. About Rs 5,000 crores a year are additional resources for implementing the Act. So, money will not be a constraint in implementing the Act,” he asserts. “ We also have a Rs 15,000 crore budget for this year and have been promised more funds, if needed,” he informs. Most states, he claims, has surplus resources.

Even the perennial smile that is plastered on his face fails to hide his impatience with red-tape. “ By nature, I am indisciplined,” he had confessed in an interview and the mandarins in his ministry vouch for his breezy interventions. It is big-ticket change that he wants to usher in and usher in fast. India’s education sector, he is fond of saying, has been over-protected for far too long.

Sibal’s legal acumen and debating skills are often in full play at cabinet meetings, swear colleagues. Senior Congressmen are more circumspect in evaluating Sibal, worried that he is shooting his mouth on sensitive issues. “ We all compromise in our lives but that does not mean that we don’t try to change the system in our own way. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me” he said. Well, the next few years will seal Sibal’s place in history. People would like him to succeed. So, best of luck, minister.