Prakash Javadekar was sworn in as Union human resource development minister on July 12. Entrusted with a controversy-ridden portfolio, he recently completed a relatively uneventful 100 days in office. Javadekar tells Archis Mohan that his decision-making approach has been consultative and his efforts will be to build consensus on important issues among stakeholders. Edited excerpts:
When are you likely to announce the New Education Policy?
We have a meeting of parliamentarians on November 10. It will be a full-day of workshop, where we will listen to their views on the subject. Suggestions have been received from all ministries and state governments. The issue will also be discussed in the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting (on Tuesday).
We have received suggestions from nearly all stakeholders. I’ve met Christian groups, Sikh groups, Muslim groups, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram… A committee will soon be constituted to prepare a final draft, which will then be sent to the Cabinet. The process should take four months. I’m listening to all stakeholders. The policy will have five pillars: Accessibility, quality, equity (social justice), accountability (of schools, institutions, etc), and affordability.
Have you taken any final decision on the no detention policy and reintroducing board exams for 10th class students?
A sub-committee has suggested a no-detention policy. We have received its report and this will be presented before the CABE for discussion and final decision. The Right to Education Act will need to be amended. There is a strong view that no detention has hurt the education system. If states disagree, they will be allowed to take their call and if all agree, we will amend the Act right away.
The decision on restarting board exams for 10th class students is also being considered. It has nothing to do with CABE; it’s an administrative decision we need to take. Many people have demanded reintroduction of the exam. We are giving it serious thought and will take a decision soon. Neither the no detention policy nor reintroducing 10th board exams has anything to do with the New Education Policy.
What has been your focus in your first 100 days?
As soon as I took over, there was the Inter-State Council attended by chief ministers — the first such meeting in 10 years. All chief ministers spoke about the need to improve quality of education. This is also my agenda - to improve the quality of primary, secondary and higher education. To that end, we are promoting research and innovation centres.
Where will the money come from for world-class laboratories?
The Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Higher Education Finance Agency (HEFA). Under this, the government has committed Rs 1,000 crore equity capital. We’ve issued a tender for banks to come forward and manage HEFA funds. The idea is that institutes leverage their resources from budgetary grants, plus assistance from banks, and also corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and debt instruments to raise money. We expect in due course, Rs 20,000 crore will be available.
We will not charge any interest on loans to universities and institutions. They will repay the principal amount from the additional incomes they will earn by getting more research assignments, etc.
How do you plan to resolve the problems with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)?
I am streamlining both AICTE and the University Grants Commission. We’re not issuing guidelines by the day. We are not modifying guidelines according to the court verdict. We are taking a holistic approach, seeing the problem through and through, and then we are going ahead with policy decisions. We want to bring more transparency and efficiency.
Our formula is to give more autonomy to good institutes; 50 per cent autonomy and 50 per cent regulation for middle-level institutes, while 80-90 per cent regulation for not-so-good institutes. We will have institutes classified according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework and also NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) ranking. We will consider both.
In distance learning, we will only allow it where there isn’t any need for practical training. For example, social sciences. Where you require practical training, it needs to be contact education. We will bring more clarity with our holistic guidelines on each issue and each sector, including on regulatory aspects and also the way grants are provided, institutes are classified, the way institutes are being monitored, etc.
Are there any timelines?
In one year, many things will happen.
The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto had talked about starting medicine and engineering education in Indian languages.
I was in Israel last month. It is a nation of eight million people. Their medical, engineering and atomic sciences are in Hebrew. Fortunately, India has many languages. We need to improve all Indian languages. English also has a place in the Constitution. Material has to be developed in all languages. We need to prepare the wherewithal, create infrastructure and collect experts. We have asked all regional language universities that they prepare the material. We are not against any language. We are not against English.
What are your views on affirmative action in the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)?
There is a history to it. It’s a legacy issue. Our constitutional provision for reservation is for every institution. However, in 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister, allowed IIM-Ahmedabad not to have reservation in faculty and some other posts. Other IIMs followed suit. We are advising the IIMs that they need to take a positive view and advertise the posts. But they complain they don’t find candidates even after repeated advertisements. The alternative, then, is to fill posts from other categories. SCs (Scheduled Castes) and STs (Scheduled Tribes) should be given opportunity, but seats can’t remain vacant if you don’t get the candidates.
Will the existing formula continue?
The existing formula will continue.
You have adopted a softer approach in handling student agitations, particularly in Jawaharlal Nehru University...
I am a product of student agitation. Therefore, I can agree with dissent but it has to be democratic. Confining the Vice Chancellor for the night and not allowing him to have food etc can’t be termed a democratic process. There needs to be reasonableness in every kind of protest. The VC wasn’t denying talks.
On the T S R Subramanian committee report…
We are already allocating 4.5 per cent of our GDP. The GDP is not just in the government’s pockets. The government only has taxation. It is spending 50 per cent, while state governments are spending 30 per cent. Together, this is 4.5 per cent - a good figure. We need to increase efficiency of the money.
The challenge is to improve government education. Each year, 800,000 students drop out of government schools to join private schools. Each year, there is a four per cent drop in government schools and eight per cent increase of enrolment in private schools. Poor people also have aspirations. So we need to improve the quality of government education.
When are you likely to announce the New Education Policy?
We have a meeting of parliamentarians on November 10. It will be a full-day of workshop, where we will listen to their views on the subject. Suggestions have been received from all ministries and state governments. The issue will also be discussed in the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting (on Tuesday).
We have received suggestions from nearly all stakeholders. I’ve met Christian groups, Sikh groups, Muslim groups, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram… A committee will soon be constituted to prepare a final draft, which will then be sent to the Cabinet. The process should take four months. I’m listening to all stakeholders. The policy will have five pillars: Accessibility, quality, equity (social justice), accountability (of schools, institutions, etc), and affordability.
Have you taken any final decision on the no detention policy and reintroducing board exams for 10th class students?
A sub-committee has suggested a no-detention policy. We have received its report and this will be presented before the CABE for discussion and final decision. The Right to Education Act will need to be amended. There is a strong view that no detention has hurt the education system. If states disagree, they will be allowed to take their call and if all agree, we will amend the Act right away.
The decision on restarting board exams for 10th class students is also being considered. It has nothing to do with CABE; it’s an administrative decision we need to take. Many people have demanded reintroduction of the exam. We are giving it serious thought and will take a decision soon. Neither the no detention policy nor reintroducing 10th board exams has anything to do with the New Education Policy.
What has been your focus in your first 100 days?
As soon as I took over, there was the Inter-State Council attended by chief ministers — the first such meeting in 10 years. All chief ministers spoke about the need to improve quality of education. This is also my agenda - to improve the quality of primary, secondary and higher education. To that end, we are promoting research and innovation centres.
Where will the money come from for world-class laboratories?
The Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Higher Education Finance Agency (HEFA). Under this, the government has committed Rs 1,000 crore equity capital. We’ve issued a tender for banks to come forward and manage HEFA funds. The idea is that institutes leverage their resources from budgetary grants, plus assistance from banks, and also corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and debt instruments to raise money. We expect in due course, Rs 20,000 crore will be available.
We will not charge any interest on loans to universities and institutions. They will repay the principal amount from the additional incomes they will earn by getting more research assignments, etc.
How do you plan to resolve the problems with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)?
I am streamlining both AICTE and the University Grants Commission. We’re not issuing guidelines by the day. We are not modifying guidelines according to the court verdict. We are taking a holistic approach, seeing the problem through and through, and then we are going ahead with policy decisions. We want to bring more transparency and efficiency.
Our formula is to give more autonomy to good institutes; 50 per cent autonomy and 50 per cent regulation for middle-level institutes, while 80-90 per cent regulation for not-so-good institutes. We will have institutes classified according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework and also NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) ranking. We will consider both.
In distance learning, we will only allow it where there isn’t any need for practical training. For example, social sciences. Where you require practical training, it needs to be contact education. We will bring more clarity with our holistic guidelines on each issue and each sector, including on regulatory aspects and also the way grants are provided, institutes are classified, the way institutes are being monitored, etc.
Are there any timelines?
In one year, many things will happen.
The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto had talked about starting medicine and engineering education in Indian languages.
I was in Israel last month. It is a nation of eight million people. Their medical, engineering and atomic sciences are in Hebrew. Fortunately, India has many languages. We need to improve all Indian languages. English also has a place in the Constitution. Material has to be developed in all languages. We need to prepare the wherewithal, create infrastructure and collect experts. We have asked all regional language universities that they prepare the material. We are not against any language. We are not against English.
What are your views on affirmative action in the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)?
There is a history to it. It’s a legacy issue. Our constitutional provision for reservation is for every institution. However, in 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister, allowed IIM-Ahmedabad not to have reservation in faculty and some other posts. Other IIMs followed suit. We are advising the IIMs that they need to take a positive view and advertise the posts. But they complain they don’t find candidates even after repeated advertisements. The alternative, then, is to fill posts from other categories. SCs (Scheduled Castes) and STs (Scheduled Tribes) should be given opportunity, but seats can’t remain vacant if you don’t get the candidates.
Will the existing formula continue?
The existing formula will continue.
You have adopted a softer approach in handling student agitations, particularly in Jawaharlal Nehru University...
I am a product of student agitation. Therefore, I can agree with dissent but it has to be democratic. Confining the Vice Chancellor for the night and not allowing him to have food etc can’t be termed a democratic process. There needs to be reasonableness in every kind of protest. The VC wasn’t denying talks.
On the T S R Subramanian committee report…
We are already allocating 4.5 per cent of our GDP. The GDP is not just in the government’s pockets. The government only has taxation. It is spending 50 per cent, while state governments are spending 30 per cent. Together, this is 4.5 per cent - a good figure. We need to increase efficiency of the money.
The challenge is to improve government education. Each year, 800,000 students drop out of government schools to join private schools. Each year, there is a four per cent drop in government schools and eight per cent increase of enrolment in private schools. Poor people also have aspirations. So we need to improve the quality of government education.