The Hindu : Who decides educational policies?

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Friday, Feb 14, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Who decides educational policies?

By Amrik Singh

WHO DECIDES educational policies? The Executive or the Judiciary? Some weeks ago, when the Supreme Court said professional colleges were free to fix their own fees, several ears pricked up and wondered who was laying down the educational policies. I was one of them.

Educational policies are formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC), sometimes in consultation with the HRD Ministry but more often on its own. Sometimes the State Governments too take an initiative but that is generally in line with the established line of thinking. This was the first time the Supreme Court, on its own initiative, laid down that professional colleges would have the right to prescribe their own fees.

This was done because, a decade earlier, the Court had laid down a policy under which half the students were to be charged the full cost of education and the other half a subsidised rate. That judgment had created some problems. At times a student who got one additional mark got into the aided category and, by implication, those who failed to secure that extra mark had to pay the full cost. This was resented by some. Not only that, there were quite a few cases where affluent students got into the aided quota even when they could afford to pay but were not asked to pay. The snag about the earlier decision was that a lot of importance was attached to the academic capability of the student and none to his financial circumstances. By shifting gears now, the Supreme Court has jumped from one extreme to another.

Under the new dispensation, admission will be granted to whoever can pay. While some of them will be able to pay, about 50 per cent or so will be unable to do so. And yet, to leave them out would be socially unjust, educationally unsound and politically unacceptable. In the case of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe students, the Union Government has a post-matriculation study scheme whereby anyone who qualifies for admission is funded by the Welfare Ministry. Though the scheme started somewhat modestly more than two decades ago, currently, the outlay under this head is nearly Rs. 200 crores a year. So far, so good. Problems will now arise in respect of the borderline cases. Those who are deserving and who belong to the known categories will get admitted and also qualify for the scholarship. But those who are a little less deserving and yet have some potential or do not belong to the prescribed categories will be unable to get funding. In four or five States, Maharashtra for example, the proportion of the OBC candidates is fairly large. In Andhra Pradesh they are treated on a par with Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates and their educational costs paid for in full. In Maharashtra, the provisions are somewhat stringent and only the more deserving get funding. To put it in another way, the proportion of those who do not qualify and yet need support is quite substantial. In the situation now unfolding, this problem will become acute.

The Supreme Court judgment has complicated the situation. Now the professional colleges have the legal sanction to decide their fees. Neither the universities nor the professional bodies concerned can enforce a different set of procedures. At the same time, there is no agency other than the Ministry of Welfare at the Centre (as also in some States) to provide financial aid to students who are on the borderline.

Not unexpectedly, therefore, the next few years are going to be a bit difficult. According to newspaper reports, the Maharashtra Government is planning to set up a regulatory body. A 12-member panel will go into the issue and come up with some kind of a pragmatic solution. During the next few months, perhaps, other States will have to do something in order to sort out the problem.

How will they sort it out? One thing is clear. The Supreme Court having given its pronouncement, the law has been laid down; something without a precedent as far as one can judge. A situation has arisen whereby a roundabout way would have to be found to deal with the problem.

One alternative can be that the different professional bodies are enabled to play a bigger hand than they are doing now. This is not easy to accomplish, it may be added.

The fact of the matter is that while non-professional courses have been run in a somewhat casual manner for decades, to do the same in respect of professional courses would be disastrous. The matter therefore requires urgent attention. Who is to take the initiative? Some of the professional bodies do not always see eye to eye with one another. Problems of jurisdiction and coordination will crop up. This being so, perhaps it would be a good idea if the HRD Ministry were to evolve some kind of a consensus.

This is one dimension of the problem. There is a second one too. In terms of the existing system, the needs of those who fall within its parameters will possibly be taken care of but the real sufferers will be the ones on the borderline. Their problem can be solved only if, in addition to what the Centre or the States are already doing, an imaginative attempt is made to fund those students also who require it.

About 15-20 per cent of those who need help are getting it already. Approximately, 50 per cent can support themselves on their own. (No one should forget that the bulk of the students in professional courses come from affluent homes.) They are able to pay whatever is asked for but it is the remaining 25-30 per cent who are in need of help. But there is no one to help them.

Such students can be helped only if an organised effort is made by those involved in education to raise funds from a variety of sources. So far, the country has not evolved a financial aid system in such a systematic way that the whole body of students, both within India and abroad, are drawn into a network of support. In most foreign universities, the student-aid business is highly organised as well as run on creative and professional lines.

While it may not work in the case of non-professional students, it is not too much to expect that, when it comes to professional students, help would be forthcoming from those who have passed out and done well for themselves. In today's undefined situation, the correct thing to do is to create an atmosphere in each professional college, wherein those who pass out are encouraged to help those still in college. As it is, some of them have helped their old institutions handsomely. The proportion of such students may be small but they do exist.

Helping their old colleges is one thing. Helping those who wish to get enrolled or are already enrolled is another. The second target is easier to pull off than the first. Therefore, it stands to reason that an organised effort be made to involve the old students and also the general public. The funds thus raised will provide financial aid to the 25-30 per cent or so who need help. That this is being somewhat over-optimistic may be true. But without this kind of optimism and a certain degree of commitment, it will not be possible even to get started.

Meanwhile, it goes without saying that, in the next few years particularly, the state would have to take a much greater degree of responsibility than it has done so far. Is that what the Supreme Court intended? But no one needs to feel upset about it. We have yet to tap the resources of our old students and the general public. Among other things, their involvement can lead to several initiatives which, as of today, cannot be anticipated.

At the same time, the HRD Ministry and the various professional bodies owe an explanation to the public whether, at any stage, they represented to the Supreme Court that the existing system required to be changed; and if so, in what manner. If they did not, as is presumably the case, they created a situation wherein there was a vacuum at the policy making level. The Supreme Court took note of it and acted upon it. Why grumble now?

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