People's Democracy

Three Years Of UPA Govt And Education

K K Ragesh

THE report card of the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on three years of UPA government failed to make a serious review on the stipulations in the National Common Minimum Programme . Instead of appraising the extent of accomplishment of the NCMP stipulations during the last three years the report card rather makes numerous hollow claims. The prime minister did not take such a task since the UPA has failed to implement some of its vital promises. In his foreword to the UPA's report card Dr Manmohan Singh claims that the policy agenda set out by the constituents, allies and supporting parties of the UPA in the NCMP ‘has been substantially implemented’. And he also expresses his hope that ‘by the end of our tenure of the government the UPA will deliver more than it had promised’. While uttering too much on the higher rates of economic growth the Report failed to visualise any tangible plan to address the present serious agrarian crisis, eradication of poverty, crisis in health care, employment and education sector etc. In contrast the prime minister confesses that high national income growth alone does not address the challenge of employment promotion, poverty reduction and balanced regional development.

In the realm of education also the Report exaggerates tangible factors. The two per cent education cess on major central taxes introduced in 2005-06 to raise resources for providing universal elementary education and the additional one per cent education cess introduced in 2007-08 for funding secondary and higher education are obviously a welcome step. But it is also a fact that even the much boasted 34 per cent increase in budgetary allocation for education in 2007-08 over the previous year is not adequate to set a direction to meet the ‘pledge of increasing public spending in education to at least 6 per cent of GDP’. In order to achieve the target of 6 per cent of GDP as Kothari commission pointed out, at least 10 per cent of the central budget must necessarily be allocated for education. The amplified ‘raise’ of 34 per cent in fact is merely an increase of 0.5 per cent of the budget. During the last fiscal year central budgetary allocation for education was 4.25 per cent and in the current fiscal year it has increased in to 4.75 per cent! Hence it is obvious that the so called increase is ridiculously meager to meet or accomplish the target in the NCMP. While making the budget speech the finance minister also played the gimmick of numbers.

As per the Economic Review tabled in the parliament in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, public spending in education is only 2.8 per cent of the GDP. Amidst the rhetoric of 9 per cent growth rate and 20 per cent increase in the total revenue receipts an increase mere 0.5 per cent for education is an embarrassment and cannot be taken seriously as a stride. The UPA leadership rather should intervene and show political will for fulfilling the promises by taxing the rich who are the real beneficiaries of the economic policies and spending more for productive social service sector including education. Unfortunately the revised estimates show the lack of political will that even the limited budgetary allocation for education remains unspent.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION: MILES TO GO

While exhibiting the stretched list of fresh appointment of teachers and even on newly built class rooms and toilets the report keeps tight-lipped on the NCMP commitment to universalise access to quality basic education. It is quite shameful that even after 60 years of independence we are unable to achieve an important directive principle enshrined in the constitution. Even today around 1.5 crore of children with in relevant age group are out of school. 46 per cent children from Scheduled Tribes and 38 per cent from Scheduled Castes are out of school. Among the children enrolled in schools, drop out ratio is terrifically huge. It is alarming that the drop out rate in classes I-X is 62.68 per cent. 10.39 per cent of the total schools in our country have only a single classroom. In 2005, there were 30,048 primary schools running without a building. India is domicile to the highest number of child labourers in the world and child labour can never be eradicated unless free and compulsory elementary education is implemented.

The 86th constitutional amendment, which made free and compulsory education a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6-14 years, was passed in 2002. But the central government failed to enact a central legislation to implement the constitutional mandate. Many drafts of the Right to Education bill were prepared during the NDA regime itself. All such drafts were inadequate and even the draft of the Right to Education Bill 2005 prepared by the UPA government tried to dilute several key provisions.

Even after three years of assuming office the UPA government has not fulfilled this crucial commitment made in the NNCMP. In fact the UPA government has taken the decision of not enacting a central legislation on Right to Education because of opposition from the finance ministry and the planning commission citing lack of resources to implement it. To fulfill the promise of universal education in the NCMP, the supposed bill must be passed by the parliament. Even though the UPA government decided to place the bill in the last year monsoon session of the parliament, succumbing before the finance ministry’s pressures, a model Right to Education bill was formulated and sent to all state governments by the HRD ministry for enacting legislations at state level.

The draft of the Right to Education bill 2005 had invited severe criticism from various quarters for the dilution of several provisions. The proposed model Right to education Bill 2006 has further diluted many of the crucial provisions made in the 2005 draft bill. Most importantly, the provision in the draft bill of reserving at least 25 per cent free seats for poor children in private schools has been done away with. The UPA government has clearly succumbed to pressures from private school managements. The entire section on the central government’s responsibility including the provision of financial assistance to the states has been deleted. The provision for constituting the National Commission for Elementary Education contained in the draft bill, meant to monitor the implementation of the Act, has also been removed.

While shifting the onus on the states, which, anyway bear a major share of the expenditure for public education the constitutional mandate of right to education will remain unfulfilled. It is the responsibility of the central government that had promised to universalise quality basic education to implement the constitutional mandate. If the central government is firm on spending 6 per cent of the GDP and allocate 10 per cent of its budget for education the pledge of universal education can candidly be implemented. Hiding all these facts the Report erroneously states “the UPA government has prepared a Model Right to Education bill for adoption by states to give effect to the fundamental right to education. The centre is actively pursuing the matter with the states!”

LONG PENDING CENTRAL LEGISLATION

Amid blown up proclamations, the government was not hesitant even to make bogus claims in the Report. The Report to People ridiculously states that the government had enacted the private professional education institutions (regulation of admission and fixation of fees) Act to regulate the process of admission and charging of fees by private institutions. Irrespective of the long pending demand of the academic community and student organisations the central government succumbed to the pressure of the private education lobby and hence deferred the decision of the proposed legislation. As a result of the student agitations and Left interventions the government had decided to enact the central legislation and the same was approved in the CABE meeting held in Bangalore in 2005 January. Subsequently draft legislation was also prepared. Even after two years the draft bill is still lying in the dark cold storage of the MHRD. Albeit the fact that the draft legislation is not even placed in the parliament, the government was making spurious claims. Subsequent to the media expose and numerous criticisms the government was compelled to remove such claim in its website by changing it as “The private Professional education institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) bill is being considered to regulate the process of admission and charging of fees by private institutions”!

After the Supreme Court verdict on private institutions in the Inamdar case, the central government had made an amendment to the constitution. The 93rd constitution amendment made in accordance with the decision of the all-party meeting empowered the government to ensure special provisions for students from socially and educationally backward classes so far as their admissions even in private institutions are concerned. But such reservations could be possible only by enacting legislations at both state and central level. Since education comes under concurrent list, a central legislation to control institutions that come under the central government such as private deemed universities and state legislations to regulate institutions that come under the state government such as private professional colleges need to be enacted to ensure the constitutional mandate of the 93rd amendment. Immediately after the passage of the 93rd amendment in 2006 January, the MHRD wrote a letter to all states to enact legislation on the lines of the 93rd amendment. It also suggested a differential fee structure and other provisions considering the local needs etc. But most state governments have failed to enact such legislation. The state governments, which enacted legislation, failed to ensure provisions of freeship and scholarship for backward students. Until and unless provisions for freeships and scholarships are ensured, students from such sections cannot take admission.

The legislation enacted by the Kerala state government in this regard is significant. Unfortunately the Kerala High Court citing petty technical reasons declared the crucial provisions in the Act as unconstitutional and hence rendered a free hand to private managements in collecting exorbitant fee and subjugate social justice. Even on the provision of holding the CET by the state agency for professional college admissions, the Court termed the same as ‘nationalisation’ of education and hence declared it unconstitutional. The Court while annulling such crucial provisions could not arrive at any logical conclusions. The Court verdict resulted in legalising capitation fee and further aggravated the chaos and confusions existing in the self-financing sector.

The central government, on the other hand pretends that its responsibility has ended with the 93rd constitution amendment alone. The UGC and the central government had conferred deemed university status for many private colleges. These institutions have emerged as mere centers of education trade and black-marketing. Even though the UGC decides fee in these institutions, admissions are taking place on the basis of the amount of capitation fee collected. The entrance test conducted by these institutions lacks transparency and credibility. Even the rank list of the CET was never published by many such institutions. Not more than a central Act can regulate fee and admissions in these institutions. In the background of the Court intervention which resulted in the denial of social justice and reservations for the backward sections a central legislation to regulate fee and admissions in self financing colleges and deemed universities is all the more important and inevitable. The UPA government, which promised in the NCMP “nobody is denied professional education because he or she is poor”, should have brought a central legislation to ensure reservations for the educationally and socially backward sections in private educational institutions. At a time when the litigations on self-financing institutions are flooded in many courts and even in the Supreme Court it is not a spectator’s role that the UPA government is expected to play. Even after three years in government the UPA in its progress report still ridiculously repeats the same promise of the proposed enactment of the long pending legislation.

DISTORTED MINORITY RIGHTS

The Report argues that the establishment of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and hence the minority rights enshrined in the constitution are being implemented more effectively. The Act defines a minority institute as “a college or institution (other than a university) established or maintained by a person or group of persons from amongst the minorities.” Thus, just on account of the minority identity of the management, an institute is to be accorded the minority status, irrespective of whether or not that particular institute is serving the interests of the concerned minority community in its entirety. It is a well known fact that majority of the institutes established in the name of minorities are not serving the real interests of the minorities, especially those of the socially and economically underprivileged sections. Students are admitted on the basis of their money power and not on the basis of their merit or minority identity. A select few elites among the minorities are abusing this right at the cost of the welfare of the poor among them. The minority protection enshrined in the Constitution under Article 30(1) is intended to uplift the minorities, educationally and socially, with the common society. And hence it is a protection for the total minority community. Even after 60 years of independence, considering the continuing educational and social backwardness of the minorities, no one can sensibly argue for denial of such rights. But as a result of wrong definitions on minority institutions the minority rights projected for the entire community are being misused and hence resultant in the denial of genuine minority rights. The Act in effect provided the elite sections among the minorities who are capable to set up educational institutions unfettered freedom to decide fee and admissions for making super profits using the minority label. The Congress policy of appeasing the elite sections is once again getting exposed and of course such an absurd legislation is not enough to adequately protect the constitution rights for the minorities. The Act must immediately be amended to prevent its misuse, to protect genuine minority rights and hence necessary clause has to be incorporated with preconditions to provide minority status to an institution.

FOREIGN & PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES: THREAT TO INTELLECTUAL SELF RELIANCE

The Report card reveals that ‘the government has approved introduction of the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill, 2007 in parliament’. Even though it was decided to introduce the bill during the last session of the parliament, the government had deferred it as a result of the resistance from the Left. Now in the Report it is vivid that the UPA government once again will make an effort to bring back the controversial bill. As the government elucidates the bill is not meant to “maintain the standards of higher education within the country as well as to protect the interests of the students’ community”. And not aimed to prevent any “chances of fraud and cheating of gullible students and its crass commercialisation”. But under the pretext of “regulating the entry, operation and maintenance of quality assurance and, prevention of commercialisation by Foreign Educational Institutions and protect the interest of student community from sub-standard Foreign Educational Institutions (FEIs) and ‘fly by night’ operators” the government in fact tries to legalise and recognise the entry and operation of the FEPs in our country. The government’s hurry to introduce such legislation against the spirit of the NCMP is in fact to please the Bretton-Wood institutions and fulfill the commitments made in the GATS negotiations.

Education undoubtedly has critical importance for the social, cultural and economic development of society. It should not be subjected to the obligatory regulations of an international accord that has a mere concern for trade liberalisation. GATS advocates for abandoning regulations in the education sector and forces free trade. It is seeking to endorse the commercialisation and liberalisation of educational services through successive rounds of negotiations. A deliberate global campaign has been unleashed to generate a notion that it is the market, rather than the state that should respond to the increasing demand for education. The concept of education as a social good is consciously replaced with the concept as a commodity. Hence, education is being made as a mere commodity subject to market rules of demand and supply and free trade. Consequently access to education is being modulated by the purchasing capacity of the ‘buyer’. Education in our country was already opened for private domestic players and various government regulatory bodies lament that such commercialisation had already affected the “quality, credibility and viability” of education. Any attempt to open the education again to the foreign market forces will further deteriorate educational equality and accessibility. Hiding all these facts, the UPA’s claim to allow foreign players as an achievement is nothing but a fraud on people. If it is committed to the people’s mandate the government should not hesitate to enact a legislation to ban all FEPs operating with a commercial motive in our country.

The ‘report to the people’ of the UPA government while appraising its three years of performance, in fact is ridiculously trying to hide factual features and exaggerates paltry achievements. The Report states about the introduction of some schemes of scholarships that in fact cater to the needs of only few hundreds of students and projects this as a big achievement. The government should remember that though it is a good beginning a lot needs to be done considering the fact that lakhs of deserving students are fighting for scholarships across the country. Alas it is not the report card of a local government!

Three years are enough to evaluate and test the direction and policy of a government. To sum it up though UPA government has increased its spending of education, lot more needs to be done and done immediately. The eagerness and speed that the government is showing to implement policies beneficial to the rich is not shown in implementing the policies benefiting the poor and the needy. This is reflected even in its attitude towards education. Unless the government urgently indulges in a course correction immediately and does something substantial for the aam admi it too will meet the same fate as of its predecessor. People of our country are mature enough to realise that mere change of slogans do not work but what is expected is concrete work. Already vast sections of the masses are on the streets expressing their discontent. It is up to the government to heed to their demands or remain deaf at its own peril.