Pramod Kumar
New Delhi: “India today needs the education, which gives a meaning to the life. It is not the responsibility of the government alone, it is the collective responsibility of all whether individuals, society or the government. Our efforts should be to make education accessible, affordable, high quality and research & innovation oriented,” said Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar while speaking at a discussion organised in New Delhi by Bharat Niti Pratishthan on national education policy. Eminent Educationist and former Director of NCERT Dr JS Rajput, joint organising secretary of Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal and BJP general secretary Shri Murlidhar Rao were also present.
Stressing on encouraging research and innovation for sustainable development Shri Javadekar said the views of all ideological sections are needed for formulation of the new education policy. “We need the views of each and every person, because we believe education is a national mission to take the country ahead. We need the education which can provide a strong foundation for life,” he added. He said the demographic dividend that we talk about today can become a big problem if we fail to ensure quality education to all. He said if we need lasting prosperity in the country we must focus on innovation.
Initiating the discussion Dr JS Rajput, who was also a member of TSR Subramanian Committee, said the path of India’s development passes through the primary schools of villages. Therefore, the focus of reforms should be on schools. It is the primary school teacher who transforms an individual from person to a personality. In fact, this is the biggest challenge today how to lead people to divinity. He said the Indian education which was delinked by Macaulay should be reconnected to its roots. He quoted the UNESCO report which said education must be rooted to its culture. He also stressed the need to impart education in mother tongue. “What is needed is the change in the conduct of the people associated with the education the desire change will not witness,” he added.
Shri Mukul Kanitkar said the prime objective of the new education policy should be to ensure what India can give to the world and how can the education resolve the problems being faced by the humanity. Instead of allowing foreign universities in India we should make efforts to ensure that the Indian universities open their campuses outside India. “Whenever there is talk about reforms in education people start talking about saffronisation. But the most important issue is Indianisation of the methods of education. It should be teacher centric, learning centric and should lead to the knowledge which gives joy. During ancient Indian education system an Acharya could look after a 1,000 students and a Kulguru (Vice Chancellor) looked after 10,000 students,” he said stressing the need that education should be controlled by the teachers. He said it is in the culture and ideology of India to provide solution to global problems. We need to look towards world leadership, he said.
Shri Muralidhar Rao said the education should nurture the oneness in the country. He said we need to revive Sanskrit otherwise we can”t connect with ancient knowledge. The diversity of language has to be protected and maintained. Saffronisation is a name that always crops up during a discussion on debate but I don”t want to get into the details. We cherish the diversity of this nation and the education policy should reflect this. Exclusivity of religion has no place in India, he said.
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