11-17-2004, 10:25 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Coddling the Left
The Pioneer Edit Desk
If Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia angered the Left by disengaging its economic think tank from the Planning Commission, it was left to Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh to placate this all-important lobby. This he has done in more than fair measure by giving fuzzy-brained jholawallahs the chance to mould the minds of future generations of Indians by placing them on NCERT's steering committee for curriculum review. For the Indian Left, this is undoubtedly a dream come true. Under Nehruvian patronage, Leftist social scientists were required to jockey for positions in national intellectual institutions. Centrists and retainers of the first family gave them perennial competition. Such cohabitation had its moments of frustration because the Congress's wishy-washy commitment to socialism and secularism gave the Left a feeling that it was being used simply as a pliable ally. There were rewards, however. Mohit Sen's autobiography recalled how a small group of self-styled "eminent" historians "won" the freedom movement for the Left, which could not have been possible without the late education minister Nurul Hasan's benign support.
Now Mr Arjun Singh has sought to revive that golden age for the Left by turning over to it NCERT, its most coveted reward, as it assures a chance to put into play mind control techniques on a scale unimaginable to even George Orwell. Now ersatz socialists and phoney secularists will have a field day ripping apart the nationalist format leading to emasculation of the national temper and further division of society. One of the sure casualties of the exercise would be the Vajpayee-era emphasis on value education based on appreciation of religion. The loonie Left considers this "communal" even though the international experience has been positive in that it engenders greater understanding between people of different faiths in multi-cultural societies. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement in September 2002, upheld the validity of this experiment.
It will be the steering committee's job to develop a new National Curriculum Framework for School Education. This is a wholly unwarranted exercise. The Framework, which is now in force, was developed in 2000 and lengthy litigation ensured the delay in its implementation till 2003-04. So in less than two years, Mr Singh has burdened the country's school community with another overhaul whereas the Plan of Action (1993) of the National Policy on Education (1986) prescribes only a five-yearly review system. Besides, if one goes strictly by the book, the NPE itself is due for review in 2006. So why go through the psychologically-and financially-bitter process of putting into force a new Framework when it would be rendered automatically irrelevant once the new NPE comes into force? The short, and perhaps the only, answer lies in Mr Singh's overweening ambitions. The more he pleases the Left, the better are his prospects. But the cost of this will tell upon the credibility of the country's education system.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Pioneer Edit Desk
If Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia angered the Left by disengaging its economic think tank from the Planning Commission, it was left to Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh to placate this all-important lobby. This he has done in more than fair measure by giving fuzzy-brained jholawallahs the chance to mould the minds of future generations of Indians by placing them on NCERT's steering committee for curriculum review. For the Indian Left, this is undoubtedly a dream come true. Under Nehruvian patronage, Leftist social scientists were required to jockey for positions in national intellectual institutions. Centrists and retainers of the first family gave them perennial competition. Such cohabitation had its moments of frustration because the Congress's wishy-washy commitment to socialism and secularism gave the Left a feeling that it was being used simply as a pliable ally. There were rewards, however. Mohit Sen's autobiography recalled how a small group of self-styled "eminent" historians "won" the freedom movement for the Left, which could not have been possible without the late education minister Nurul Hasan's benign support.
Now Mr Arjun Singh has sought to revive that golden age for the Left by turning over to it NCERT, its most coveted reward, as it assures a chance to put into play mind control techniques on a scale unimaginable to even George Orwell. Now ersatz socialists and phoney secularists will have a field day ripping apart the nationalist format leading to emasculation of the national temper and further division of society. One of the sure casualties of the exercise would be the Vajpayee-era emphasis on value education based on appreciation of religion. The loonie Left considers this "communal" even though the international experience has been positive in that it engenders greater understanding between people of different faiths in multi-cultural societies. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement in September 2002, upheld the validity of this experiment.
It will be the steering committee's job to develop a new National Curriculum Framework for School Education. This is a wholly unwarranted exercise. The Framework, which is now in force, was developed in 2000 and lengthy litigation ensured the delay in its implementation till 2003-04. So in less than two years, Mr Singh has burdened the country's school community with another overhaul whereas the Plan of Action (1993) of the National Policy on Education (1986) prescribes only a five-yearly review system. Besides, if one goes strictly by the book, the NPE itself is due for review in 2006. So why go through the psychologically-and financially-bitter process of putting into force a new Framework when it would be rendered automatically irrelevant once the new NPE comes into force? The short, and perhaps the only, answer lies in Mr Singh's overweening ambitions. The more he pleases the Left, the better are his prospects. But the cost of this will tell upon the credibility of the country's education system.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->