In the Directive Principles of State Policy, our Constitution makers fixed 1965 as the deadline by which every child should have received free compulsory education up to the age of fourteen. More than forty years have passed since that deadline elapsed, but the dream has remained a dream.
Recently, a modification of that same Directive Principle has been turned into a law by an act of Parliament, and as Education Minister it will be my topmost priority to ensure that, like many other well- meaning statutes, this one too is not honoured more in its breach than in its observance.
For a nation to prosper, it is not sufficient for only a small, privileged pocket of its population to go great guns—as, to some extent, seems to be happening in India. That prosperity must filter down to the farmer in the field and the labourer in the factory; but so long as they remain illiterate and uneducated, it is difficult for this to happen.
Image Source: lhsslaw.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Without quality education, the noble ideals of our Constitution, like justice for all and equality of opportunity, will remain ever- illusive; the principles of democracy will receive merely superficial allegiance; and the productive capacity of our workforce will fail to reach anywhere near its true potential.
Barring a few centres of excellence, our country seems to have specialised in churning out mediocre students who neither possess academic class nor sound moral values. Crowded and impersonal classrooms and a culture that considers examinations the be-all and end-all of education are to a great extent responsible for this state of affairs.
The remedy lies in improving the teacher-student ratio so as to bring about a sense of belonging in both teacher and student, and in inculcating a broader and deeper concept of education in them so that they see it as a moulder of minds, a builder of character, and an imparter of skills and abilities, both vocational and otherwise.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The implementation of these steps will require infrastructural inputs, a thorough re-orientation of the present crop of teachers, and the induction of new, bright minds who have not just drifted into the profession, but who are proud to be teachers and have a commitment towards their calling. As things stand, teachers do not enjoy a particularly high standing in society, and this can only change when they are well-paid in comparison to other professions.
Many of these measures cannot be put into practice without generous funding. Though, as Education Minister, I will leave no stone unturned in getting a significant increase in the budget allocation for my ministry, this alone will not suffice. As such, I will take recourse to calling for voluntary contributions from the public, largely industrialists and big business houses. I feel there is enough latent altruism in the so-called higher levels of our society to make such a plan workable. The donations will not only be publicly acknowledged, but full transparency will be maintained in the management of the funds thus raised.
It often happens that a would-be minister brims with ideas prior to assuming office, and for a short while afterwards. Then the problems begin. He discovers that the obstacles in his way are much greater than he had anticipated. His initial enthusiasm wanes, and he lapses into being just another holder of a high office.
As Education Minister I will no doubt face the same challenges. God willing, I will be more than equal to them.