100 days of the HRD ministry
The Ministry of Human Resources and Development, headed by Kapil Sibal has taken some huge steps in the past 100 days, which have also created waves in the news. The Right to Education bill was passed and the Class X board exams were made optional.
IT HAS been a little more than 100 days since the UPA government took charge at the Centre in its second term. There have been many portfolios in the new government that made big news. The new Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee and the Textile Minister, Dayanidhi Maran were amongst them. However, its been the Human Resource Development ministry headed by Kapil Sibal that managed to made headlines almost everyday.
The HRD ministry, which deals with education, is one of the key ministries in the country. Despite the fact, that a large percentage of the population in this country is in the age-group of 6-25, education has been neglected by the previous ministries. We still have textbooks overflowing with outdated information and universities that do not follow proper procedures. Hence, India has needed a minister who understood his/her job and the problems along with the solutions in this area.
Kapil Sibal seems to have taken some huge steps in the past 100 days. The Right To Education bill was passed. This would ensure compulsory and free education to all children under the age of 14. The impact of this bill at the ground level is still uncertain. Nevertheless, it a small but firm step towards educating the masses. The other move that created waves was, making the tenth standard exams optional for CBSE students from 2011. This decision has received compliments as well as lot of flak from parents, teachers and students alike. It is hoped though, that it will reduce unhealthy competition amongst children.
Brain drain is one problem that India has been facing for decades. But nothing was done to tap talent from across the world. To tackle this, the government did draft a ‘brain-gain’ policy regarding this issue, but it was put on the back-burner and has not been addressed since then.
The government had also promised to re-evaluate the existing deemed universities. The review is almost complete and a National Literacy Mission has been launched. The ministry has also managed to get an approval for the subsidy on educational loan which will prove beneficial for students opting for higher education. However, there has been no news about setting up new IITs in the country.
Accreditation of institutes has always been a matter of concern. The ministry is now trying to impose legislations to reform the higher education sector, including a proper mechanism for official approval of institutes. The Parliament has also approved an amendment to strengthen the National Commission for Minority Educational Institute Act.
However, the road ahead for this ministry is much more challenging. The situation of primary education in the country, especially in government schools across the villages and cities is abysmal. The content and quality of education imparted at the secondary level needs special attention. Lot of foreign universities have tie up with Indian ones. We should try and get the best out of such co-operations. The Higher education sector could do with some more legislation in this regard.
All in all, the work done by the ministry so far needs to be appreciated. But there is still a long way to go and the pace of work needs to improve.
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