People's Democracy

IN an important move, chief ministers of Delhi, Bihar, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal and the education ministers of 11 non-NDA state governments came together on a single platform to oppose the BJP-RSS drive to saffonise Indian education. The meeting, which was organised by the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at New Delhi on September 2, came down heavily on the recent attempt of the HRD minister to introduce reactionary changes in our education system.

As many as 13 state governments were represented at the meeting. Those attending the meet included Delhi chief minister Mrs Sheila Dixit, Bihar chief minister Mrs Rabri Devi, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, and Meghalaya chief minister E K Mawlong, apart from Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The education ministers attending the meet were Hem Prakash Narayan (Assam), Ram Chandra Purve (Bihar), Dr Narendra Nath (Delhi), H Vishwanath (Karnataka), Professor Ram Krishna More (Maharashtra), Ratnesh Solomon (Madhya Pradesh), Mohd Shafi Uri (Jammu & Kashmir), Dr Thambi Dorai (Tamil Nadu), Dr C P Joshi (Rajasthan), Satya Narayan Sharma (Chhattisgarh) and Kanti Biswas (West Bengal).

It will be noted that the parties ruling the states of Jammu & Kashmir and Meghalaya are part of the BJP-led NDA that is ruling at the centre. In Meghalaya, it is a BJP fellow who holds the education portfolio.

The meet discussed in depth the recent initiatives and decisions taken by the union government. The 13 states warned the centre against any unilateral change in school curricula and were emphatic that their views must be considered before formulating any education policy.

Addressing the press in presence of other chief ministers and the education ministers, the West Bengal chief minister read out the resolution adopted by the meeting. Bhattacharya said he had convened the meeting of chief ministers and education ministers because it was high time to come together, exchange views and adopt a stand demanding that the centre hear the views of the states. He said education is not the exclusive domain of any particular political party but is of overwhelming concern to the country as a whole.

Delhi chief minister, Mrs Sheila Dixit, said the meeting had created history, and opposed the moves of the HRD ministry that were a matter of concern. Any reversal of the 1986 education policy should be done only after consulting the state governments, as education figures in the concurrent list, and after an approval by the parliament. She said a policy document could not be replaced by ministry circulars.

At the meeting, all the participants expressed their grave concern on the following disturbing developments ---

First, the curricula for different stages of education from the primary to the university level have since been formulated under the guidance of the union government without consulting the state governments or convening a conference of the education ministers of states. The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) has been totally ignored.

Secondly, under the tutelage of the HRD minister, the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has already finalised and published a document called "National Curriculum Framework for School Education." Similarly, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued several circulars to different universities of the country for introducing new subjects at the undergraduate, postgraduate and even PhD levels.

Thirdly, what is most regrettable is that certain components in the above document go against the democratic and secular values enshrined in the constitution and cherished by the people of the country. Subjects like Jyotirvigyan (Vedic astrology) and Pourohitya (Vedic rituals), which the UGC has decided to introduce, can hardly be treated as subjects of study in the faculties of science or arts.

Lastly, since education is a subject included in the concurrent list of the constitution of India, it is necessary to ascertain the view of the state governments before taking any final decision or formulating any policies in the field of education. It is also imperative that approval of the parliament should also be sought in case of any major policy changes.

The meeting unanimously described as regrettable the fact that certain changes in the education policy, sought to be incorporated by the human resources development (HRD) ministry, went against the democratic and secular values enshrined in the country’s constitution. The five chief ministers and 11 education ministers resolved that ---

1) The education policy of the country should be consistent with the secular, scientific and democratic values enshrined in our constitution and decisions for formulating an education policy should be taken on the basis of a consensus among the union and the states.

2) All the academicians and secular forces in the country must be called upon to rise to the occasion and thwart the covert and overt attempts of the union government to undermine the values of our education system. This is necessary because the recent measures do not reflect the consensus of the entire nation on the nature of our nationhood.

3) In due appreciation of the sentiments and view unanimously expressed by the meeting, the union government must immediately withhold all decisions, orders, circulars and documents issued or published so far in this regard. It must also take steps to reconstitute the CABE for the purpose of obtaining its expert advice on the fundamental issues pertaining to the educational system of the country. This should be followed by a conference of education ministers of all states for a fruitful interaction with the state governments and, thereafter, the parliament must be approached for its final approval. (INN)