(a) whether the Government has noticed the demonstrations under Bahujan Jagriti Abhiyan against the declining standard, privatisation and dual policy of education;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to nationalise, make education compulsory and to increase the importance of education among students?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) to (c): The Government of India has undertaken a three-pronged consultation process of online, grassroots and national level thematic deliberations on 33 identified themes for formulating the New Education Policy (NEP). The Govt. of India has constituted a Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy and the suggestions received have been forwarded to the Committee. The Committee will examine the outcome documents, recommendations and suggestions received and formulate a Draft National Education Policy as well as a Framework for Action (FFA). Suggestions of the Bahujan Jagriti Abhiyan have also been forwarded to the Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy.
The stated policy is that education is a ‘not-for-profit’ activity. Presently private sector participation exists in the funding and management of educational institutions as long as surplus earned is reasonable and the same is ploughed back for development of institution. Section 13 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 clearly prohibits the collection of any capitation fee. Similar steps have been taken in higher education. UGC has issued several regulations, such as, UGC Establishment and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities, 2003; UGC (Institutions Deemed-to-be Universities) Regulations, 2010 and UGC Institutions Deemed-to-be Universities (Amendment) Regulations, 2014.
The extant National Policy on Education (NPE) provides for a National System of Education which implies that, up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable quality. It includes a common educational structure, a national curriculum framework and minimum levels of learning for each stage of education. It envisages, inter alia, a National System of Education to bring about uniformity in education, making adult education programmes a mass movement, providing universal access, ensuring retention and improving quality in elementary education, special emphasis on education of girls, establishment of pace-setting schools, like Navodaya Vidyalayas in each district, vocationalisation of secondary education, synthesis of knowledge and inter-disciplinary research in higher education, starting more Open Universities in the States, strengthening of the All India Council for Technical Education, encouraging sports, physical education, Yoga and adoption of an effective evaluation method. The existing policy clearly implies that there is no dual education system in the country.
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