The
Higher Education Policy of India received a structured constitution in the form
of The National Education Policy that was framed initially in 1986 and was
subsequently modified in 1992. Since then, several changes have taken place
that calls for the revision of that policy time and again. In a country like
India, framing a coherent Education Policy that meets the needs and standards
of each and every socio-economic strata of the entire nation is surely a
humongous task. But this very problem enables us to focus on the possibility of
liberalising education. What I mean here is that voices from all quarters of
the society need to be taken into account while framing this policy.
A
recent project undertaken by the Govt. of India must be talked about and
brought into light in this regard. The Government of India is right now
embarking on a time-bound grassroots consultative process, which will enable
the Ministry of Human Resource and Development to reach out to individuals
across the country through over 2.75 lakh direct consultations while also
taking inputs from citizens online. The process is right now in its final
stages where the online input portal is due to close on 31st July,
2016. While the website (http://nep.ccs.in/Home) does not in any way
disclose how the suggestions put forward by citizens are to be taken into
account while framing the actual policy, this can surely be seen as a step
towards the process of citizen participation in the framing of a national bill.
A
detailed survey of the offline individual consultations questionnaire will show
that the set tries to focus on most of the relevant aspects of framing a Higher
Education Policy. The set focuses on areas of governance related issues
focusing on the regulations of state and central universities and the way
regulations are shaped. It also focuses on the way online courses and MOOCs can
be implemented within the university structure. It gives vein to a discussion
regarding the pedagogy of online courses and how they can be implemented within
the education system. It also focuses on the way this education policy can
focus on social issues regarding gender discrimination within our educational
institutions. The point of linking higher education to society and making
education more directed towards societal benefit is also focused upon. How
partnerships with private sectors can be beneficial for the education system,
financial assistance for higher education, employability factor of this
education system and promotion of research and new knowledge are some of the
other issues that this questionnaire deals with.
One
can indeed argue that this kind of a set imposes on us an already formulated
set of areas that one can discuss about. But all these fields are nonetheless
integral to our education system. Moreover, they demand rigorous discussion
from which new sets of ideas and discourse can emerge. What we have lacked
mostly in the formation of a coherent Education Policy throughout years has
been the voices of all the stake holders in it, especially, that of the student
community in creation of a policy that is formulated for the benefit of the
students. This online portal provides us with that platform where one can voice
one’s opinion regarding all these aspects.
A
subsequent question that arises out of this entire process is whether these
suggestions are really going to be kept by the concerned authority as the
creation of the final draft will finally be subject to the interests of the
policy makers. However that does not take the onus away from the fact that one
can be aware of the suggestions and voices of various individuals regarding all
these issues as all the suggestions appear in red marked columns. This provides
us with a platform to agree, disagree and further modify the suggestions as
well as the draft itself in accordance with every individuals understanding.
This
brings us to one more point regarding the way technology and Internet has
altered the way education works in the digital age. One of the most telling concerns
in spreading of online education in India has to do with the accessibility to
Internet. Internet is still unavailable to a large part of our society and high
speed internet in that regard seems like a far fetched dream. Therein lies the
shortcoming of such an online portal where the suggestions will not flow in
from every part of the society. The problem with the creation of the canon of
disciplines like English Literature for example has been the problem of
relevance of such a discipline for students coming from a rural background and
having no prior knowledge or understanding of English Literature as such. The
affinity towards the understanding of the English language is often seen as
sufficient impetus for the student to take up English Literature as the area of
higher education. The solving of these kinds of problems require a sustained
dialogue between the concerned parties. Online portals such as the one stated
above does aim to provide such a platform. But the lack of accessibility to
Internet somewhat defeats the entire purpose in this regard.
Having
said that, we must question ourselves whether such a platform has been utilised
by everyone concerned about the state of Higher Education in India. In an age
of using social media as the principal tool of voicing one’s opinion, such
portals must attract more discussions than it has. One can always be sceptical
about any project undertaken by the Government. and make arguments like “the
govt. will only act in its own interest”—a convenient reason of not participating
in such discussions. But that will only take the focus away from the fact that
we are presented with the opportunity of discussing the most important issues
relating to Higher Education in India. What comes out of it is not certain as
yet. But such endeavours deserve to attract more participation and dialogue.
Relevant Links:
http://mhrd.gov.in/nep-new
The article is written by Gourab Goswami, Jadavpur University, Department of English, M.A. Batch-2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment