Edu-leaders

The ministry of human resource development (HRD) has started working on Education Commission, suggested by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Independence Day address. The commission will formulate a new education policy, encompassing education and learning, by next year. It will have inputs from the National Knowledge Commission, the Yashpal Committee and the Valiathan Committee.

According to reports, the ministry officials said that they are planning to set up an education commission on the lines of the DS Kothari Commission of 1964-66 that will help them formulate the new policy. They have already started working on it and consultations with stakeholders and the civil society will take about a year, after which the new policy will be ready.

The Kothari commission has 16 members, of which 11 were Indians and 5 foreigners. It set up 12 task forces and seven working groups for higher, technical and agricultural education. It recommended a common school system and a 10+2 stage of schooling and research in universities.

The present policy, National Policy on Education that was conceived in 1986, focuses on free and compulsory education, development of languages and also stresses the need for education for industry and agriculture. It also suggests periodic reviews of the policy and a revision in the long-term. Even though this policy was against the commercialisation of education, the rise in the number of private engineering and medical institutions has only added to the problem of capitation fee.

Reports say that according to the Yashpal Committee, the rapid expansion of private institutions has also led to the deterioration in quality that forced the Centre to review all deemed universities.