'The education sector needs to be freed of government and institutional constraints'

Q&A: KAPIL SIBAL

KAPIL SIBAL has taken over as the Union minister of human resource development at a time when the education sector is going through dramatic changes. On the one hand, the government has substantially increased allocation, while on the other, the sector is facing the heat of allegations of entrenched corruption. In an interview to LESLIE D’MONTE and KIRTIKA SUNEJA, he avers that the public-private partnership (PPP) model is imperative to the growth of higher education and also gives his take on the controversy over deemed universities and the Foreign Education Bill. Edited excerpts:

You have taken over when the Budget for education has increased almost 10-fold. How does the road ahead look?
The President, in her speech, spoke about three principles for higher education — expansion, inclusion and excellence — referring to access, equity and quality, respectively. Expansion refers to opening up of the education sector to all, so that all stakeholders are allowed to participate in the enterprise called education. By equity, we mean the capacity for all sections of society to pay, including minorities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward communities, so that no community is left out and all are part of the mainstream. Last, it is the quality of education that matters and can’t be diluted.

So, how would your ministry go about these tasks?
These are politically-sensitive matters, where the consensus of all members of the society and all political parties is important. We need to take everyone into confidence. The President also mentioned implementation of the recommendations made by the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and the draft of the interim report made by the Yash Pal committee [recommending the abolition of bodies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)] and these are consistent with these three principles. However, more important is the fact that the education sector needs to be freed of government and institutional constraints. There will be concrete measures about these in the 100-day plan.

Does freeing up education mean a new framework for the sector?
By and large, this means freeing education of government controls and restructuring the institutional framework. And whatever the new framework is, should be transparent and not necessarily controlled by the government. At the moment, we have statutory constraints along with government control to set up institutions. We need to move away from that formula and re-energise the education system by attracting investment without diluting excellence and equity.

Will that investment be both from the public and private sectors?
Yes. Both private and public investments are important and the PPP model will be embraced in skills development and also at the secondary school and higher education levels. The Right to Education Bill is a priority for us.

What about the Foreign Education Bill?
Foreign institutions should also be entitled to invest in education within a regulated framework to achieve the three principles. These should not be for-profit enterprises to subsidise education abroad. This means the enterprise should have access to the enormous talent and cater to the needs of India and the global community. Of course, the preconditions on the basis of which institutions come in, should not be obstructive but facilitating.

What do you have to say on the controversy over deemed universities, and the role of the government?
We are freezing new applications because if we set up a regulatory framework, then it is better for them to go through that process. We will get a report on this in three months to know the pitfalls in the system. In fact, the status of the de novo universities is a serious issue and the government is setting up de novo universities in emerging areas of knowledge. As regards private universities seeking a deemed university status, we believe they should be allowed through a different, transparent, framework and an accountable system. This means they can’t admit students without having an institution.

The Planning Commission, too, has spoken about some gaps in the education system.
The research gap for education is huge. There is a requirement of $250 billion and only $30 billion has been allocated so far. Therefore, it is imperative to involve all stakeholders to cater to the needs of youngsters and to impart skills to absorb them in the economy. Again, the PPP model must be kept in mind when setting up the syllabi and training youngsters. It is important to know which sector needs most human resources and of what quality. For instance, there is a need to have courses for para-legals or for artisans and have associate degrees for these vocational courses. There is a definite need for the economy and the education system to cater to that. The concept of community colleges can be taken forward with private institutions, the way IGNOU has launched them. Hopefully, this will be a part of the 100-day plan.

What is your take on India’s poor Gross Enrolment Ratio?
The GER is about 11 per cent at the moment and we plan to take it to 15 per cent by 2012. However, we need to move much faster than that, and have a nation’s effort rather than a national effort to make education a national enterprise.

What is the progress on the 15 Central Universities and other academic reforms?
We will move forward with the 14 world class universities. And on the academic reforms front, there is a need to go ahead with the semester system and cramming should not be the basis of education. So, freedom of syllabi is required along with academic freedom, by allowing universities to innovate. The heart of all this is how to bring about innovation in the system and think out of the box to meet tomorrow’s needs.

So, is there a need to change the syllabi of IITs and IIMs to include more research?
Not only research, but this also refers to the fact that IITs can be a part of larger universities, so that they can have more significant research. There is a need to build hubs of education in India for higher degrees and multiplicity of skills to cater to the needs of the community. This can happen only when there is multiplicity of stakeholders to create those skills and this involves the government, non-government agencies, academia, etc.

What about distance education?
Distance education, too, needs a policy statement and can be regulated. IGNOU’s successful experience can be expanded and distance education can be another vehicle for enhancing education.