Democratise Education: An article in HT by JS Rajput

In its zeal for ‘detoxification’ of education and 27 per cent OBC quota, the human resource development ministry has lost the plot, which is to offer quality education to all irrespective of caste, sex, or denomination. The intervention of the Supreme Court in the 27 per cent reservations for OBCs case has revived the query: is it educationally sound and socially relevant? Is it really non-political? Did those who support it in Parliament do so after analysing its implications in the long-run? These questions are being asked by everyone. “This is 100 per cent politics,” is the common refrain. The way the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has acted during the past three years has made everyone apprehensive of its ‘hidden agenda’. Never before has the ministry been so brazen in its political manoeuvrings. Remember the much-hyped ‘detoxification’ and the ‘desaffronisation’ drive launched in May 2004? Crores of rupees have been wasted in rejecting the books printed between 2002 and 2004, only because of objections from a certain group of disgruntled Left academics. A proper educational evaluation was not considered necessary. the books prepared under instructions and in a hurry by ‘like-minded’ experts are being revised, rewritten and paragraphs are being withdrawn in much larger numbers than the much denigrated earlier versions of the ‘saffronised’ books. Today, school textbooks are in a mess. Pirated versions are taking precedence over original textbooks, several of which are nowhere to be found in the market. To give an example, a paragraph on the Jat community was replaced in 2001 after some historians disputed it as incorrect and unsubstantiated by facts. Its removal was officially declared a part of ‘saffronisation’ and it was restored with fanfare in 2004. In 2006, it was quietly replaced again the day after the chief minister of Haryana approached the union HRD minister. It is not noteworthy that one of the first acts of the HRD ministry after the new government took over was to issue instructions to the NCERT to stop publication of Karan Singh’s book on Vedanta and another on Thirukkural for teachers. This period was marked for the vendetta it unleashed on those who did not change colours with the change of government. The spate of enquiries, removals and harassment, extending to co-workers and even family members, will be remembered, as it was unprecedented. Some enquiry officers have been amply rewarded. Though initially appointed for three months, those who gave a command performance are about to complete three years. Whatever be the judicial verdict on the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, there are those who will recall what Kaka Kalelkar, the chairman of the first Commission on Backward Classes had to say: “Towards the end of our enquiry, we have come to the conclusion that caste, communal or denominational considerations need not be introduced in the educational policy. A progressive modern welfare State cannot afford to tolerate educational backwardness anywhere in the State. In most of the modern States more than 60 per cent of the scholars receive full educational aid. In India, it should be possible for the State to give educational aid to all the poor and deserving students in the country, irrespective of caste, sex, or denomination”. The question that needs an intensive debate is: Has the government of India discarded such an approach and if so, why? While pleading that reservations for SC/ST should continue for some more time, the Commission realised that “the time has come when all the poor and deserving should, and could, be helped, so that no communal consideration need be introduced in the field of education”. Governments survive on statistics, which can always be stretched to claim achievements even when the opposite is true. For some time the media management skills succeed in projecting ‘epoch-making’ initiatives and achievements. This, however, has a limited life. Eventually, the truth surfaces and people see through the game. Increased grants in the budget and the decline in dropout rates are projected as achievements. But the fact that the budget allocations are nowhere near the promised 6 per cent of GDP or that several million children are not going to school is just glossed over. The implementation of the mid-day meal scheme helps mostly other than those for whom it is intended. What happens in primary schools in terms of functioning or regularity is just a matter of detail. A big issue is made of reservations in institutions of higher learning but the need for regional language schools is ignored. Who suffers because of the poor functioning of primary schools? Not the wards of political leaders or government officials. It would be relevant to the political leadership of the day to recall the words of Jawaharlal Nehru: “I react strongly against anything which leads to inefficiency and second-rate standards. I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost.” We are witness to the times of a second-rate political leadership.

J.S. Rajput is former Director, National Council for Educational Research and Training.

Body mass politic: An article in Indian Express by Bibek Debroy

Is there a better question to ask, as the UPA completes three years, than who really is the aam aadmi? Who are India’s poor? How does public policy select the right beneficiaries? ‘Weaker sections’ is a vague expression. ‘Backward classes’ is a shade more precise, though we can go around in circles trying to define working class, lower class, proletariat, lumpen-proletariat, lower class, under-class and slave-class. Marxist taxonomy has contributed to further confusion. But it is obvious that class is fundamentally an economic construct.

Note that in 1963, when a 50 per cent cap was imposed by courts in the Balaji case, 50 per cent of India’s population was indeed below the poverty line (BPL). NSS (National Sample Survey) data show a BPL figure of 27.5 per cent in 2004-05 according to one method (uniform recall) and 21.8 per cent according to a different method (mixed recall). Today, if we continue to harp on 50 per cent, we fail to recognise India has changed. And we do harp on 50 per cent. 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs add up to 22.5 per cent. Since courts allow 50 per cent, 27.5 per cent must be other backward classes (OBCs). That’s a far better justification of the 27 per cent OBC figure than the 1931 Census, though there is a minor complication because combined SC/ST share in the total population has increased to 24.4 per cent. There is a tendency to assume all categories of people must be poor — SCs/STs, OBCs, women, physically handicapped, ex-servicemen, those born from inter-caste marriages, dependents of army forces personnel killed in action, Muslims (after Sachar Committee).

They must all benefit, not from positive affirmation, but from its Indian counterpart, reservations and quotas. There is a joke floating around on the Net about a rich girl (in KG) who was asked to write an essay about a poor family. This family (the couple and their two children), their gardener, driver, guard and four dogs were all poor. The family hadn’t eaten chicken for two days, the Mercedes hadn’t been serviced, the AC wasn’t working properly, the house hadn’t been painted for one year, the last foreign vacation was six months ago and so on. The point should be obvious to anyone not inordinately dumb, unless that person happens to be a politician. By correlating class (which is what one should be after) with caste, a double mistake is committed. First, one assumes everyone in a backward caste is economically backward (the so-called creamy layer issue). Second, one assumes everyone in a forward caste is economically forward, even if that person happens to reside in the rural back-of-beyond of eastern UP. The worst BPL state is Orissa, with a BPL figure

of 46.4 per cent — worse than Bihar. Isn’t it incongruous that the backward caste (SCs/STs/OBCs and based on NSS 1999-2000 data) population should be 29 per cent in Orissa and 66 per cent in

Tamil Nadu?

There can be a legitimate debate about whether reservations (education or jobs) are the best mode. But the broader issue is of identifying the poor (poverty not meaning income poverty alone), an exercise also required for subsidy targeting. One needs a BPL census rather than an OBC census. But since that’s difficult and also prone to abuse, are there other indicators one can use, spliced into an index? Since some districts (around 100) lack any physical or social infrastructure worth the name, one can also build that collective element into the index. Such indices have been suggested by Purushottam Agrawal (JNU), Yogendra Yadav and Satish Deshpande (CSDS) and Sachar Committee. In addition, there are 13 parameters suggested by the Planning Commission. Whichever technique is used, if the overall beneficiary figure (including for reservations) is more than 20 per cent, we are going wrong. And we will also go wrong if the bulk of beneficiaries aren’t in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Orissa, MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, not Tamil Nadu and Andhra.

However, an index is often too complicated. UNDP’s human development index (HDI) is a case in point, based on per capita income, education and health indicators alone. Its virtue is simplicity. Other indicators could have been included (and there was a debate when HDI first surfaced in 1990), but it transpires these three capture all we want. The National Family Health Survey found (1998-99) 47 per cent of children (under 3) are under-weight. A Nutrition Foundation of India study (2002) found 29 per cent of Delhi’s children (4-18 years) in a private school are over-weight. How many poor individuals are obese or over-weight? If we based reservation criteria on per capita income, BMI (body mass index) and mother’s literacy, we would probably do a far better job at identifying those who need reservations. Twenty other indicators can be added, but that loses the virtue of simplicity. As HDI (which is also an indicator of deprivation) showed, because of correlations, a few simple indicators often suffice. In any event, BMI is far superior to caste. Caste may lead to roads being named after specific individuals, but as a public policy tool, it is a road that leads nowhere. Remember the song ‘Road to Nowhere’? That has a line, “But they’ll make a fool of you.” That is what politics has always been.

The writer is an economist

pics of ATAMSAMMAN DIVAS,1st anniversary of the infamous lathi charge infront of RAJ BHAWAN, held on 13 may

An Appeal to all supporters of YFE

The Supreme Court has vindicated our stand on reservations.This stay order is not an occasion for one side to declare victory and another side war. It is rather an opportunity to replace divisive politics with one oriented to the common good, replace the illusory benefits of reservation with the real advantages of a well defined affirmative action policy and replace the politics of brute power with a commitment to sober reason.

But unfortunately all the signs are that politicians will once again sacrifice genuine social justice to a politics of expediency. a particular lobby of ministers and regional leaders are inclined to get the stay vacated.

The legal battle has become more intense. A team of top 14 lawyers of the country is fighting the case in SC on behalf of YFE.A lots of expenses has been incurred in collection and compilation of data, facts and figures to stregthen our case.A hearing in the court costs almost Rs 3 lacs.YFE is facing severe financial crisis.

It will be very sad if we cannot continue the legal battle due to lack of funds. All our efforts and hard work will be wasted. It's high time that all concerned citizens come forward and help us to fight this financial crisis. We need to raise as much funds possible before the hearing starts again. YFE appeals to please donate open heartedly and help us to fight this divisive politics.

A verbal support is not going to help now.

You can send in your DD/cheque in favour of "Youth for Equality,Mumbai". For any assistance call Dr Abizer on 98202 54008

Remember , it is never the activity of rascals that destroys the society but the inactivity of the good people.

Win we shall

Win we will

The truth will prevail.........

As we "Youth for Equality" are fighting for a just cause...........

Jai Hind
Mera Bharat Samaan

SC refers OBC quota issue to larger bench

Raising several questions on the validity of the government's caste-based reservation policy, the Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a larger bench the controversial issue of 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes in elite Central educational institutions.

The court felt the government cannot adopt any bullying attitude which could impinge on the fundamental rights of the citizens.

Holding that the issue involved considerable importance of Constitutional law having an impact on the entire nation, a Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice P K Jain said the larger bench would have to examine whether the government has got unbridled powers to evolve reservation policies without any restrictions.

The court said that it would be the larger bench which would have to review the 93rd Constitutional amendment by which Article 15 (5) was inserted to provide reservation to socially backward sections.

The bench had earlier this year stayed the implementation of the provision relating to OBC reservation in elite institutions like IITs and IIMs in the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation by Admission) Act, 2006.

The Centre approached the court for an urgent hearing on the issue by a larger bench so that a decision could be given at the earliest to enable implementation of the reservation for the current academic year.

Pointing out that the government's reservation policy appears to be violative of various provisions like Articles 14, 15, 21 and 22 which guarantee fundamental rights, the bench wondered what was the yardstick being applied in perpetuating the policies.

The apex court felt that if the government wanted to adopt a policy it should have focused on ensuring compulsory education for illiterates irrespective of the caste barrier.

The bench also raised a query as to why minority educational institutions have been exempted from implementing the 27 per cent quota policy, which had been made mandatory for all non-minority educational institutions.

Inclusion of private educational institutions for the purpose of implementing the policy was unrelated to compelling time, computable data and violative of the constitutional provisions.

Referring to the judgement in the Indira Sawhney case, the court queried why the government failed to exclude the creamy layer from the benefits of reservation.