The triumph of the Congress-led UPA government in the historic parliamentary trust vote on July 22 gave additional impetus to the two-day education ministers conference held in Delhi on July 23-24. The conference was a useful forum for Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh to announce a National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) with the objective of providing broadband connectivity to all institutions of higher and technical education countrywide. For increasing GER (gross enrollment ratio) by almost 5 percent, we have to find innovative solutions. I would therefore, strongly recommend that states make use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to increase access as it is more cost effective. At the same time we should also ensure that there is some convergence between the open and distance learning systems and the conventional education system as both need to complement each other and lead to strengthening of quality and standards, Singh told the education ministers of 28 states and seven Union territories who attended the conference.
The conference was informed that a massive Rs.20,000 crore has been earmarked for incentivising state governments to promote 373 degree colleges, start new universities and 1,000 polytechnics, and for bringing hitherto uncovered institutions under 12 (b) of the UGC Act 1951, making them eligible for UGC funding. This amount will be allocated between the states/Union territories based on population, GER and backwardness. They should send proposals under the central sector scheme, or through UGC, says the agreed outcome document.
On their part, in exchange for Central government largesse, state education ministers agreed to bifurcate/trifurcate some of their mammoth universities to bring down the number of affiliated colleges to a manageable level of 150. The ministers also agreed that their universities would prepare perspective plans (academic, research and infrastructure) detailing utilisation of resources made available to them. Meanwhile the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex-level regulatory body for all institutions of technical education (engineering, business management, pharmacoepia, hospitality management etc), announced it will encourage second shifts in all polytechnics and engineering colleges from the next academic session in rural areas and in states with a low GER.
The other major development in higher education in the national capital was the cooling of temperatures in the prestigious minority St. Stephens College following appointment of Christian faculty members, though the college continues to be without a principal. Temperatures had risen in this ancient (estb. 1881) high-profile college after pro-tem administrator M.S. Frank announced a religion-based faculty quota and appointed two Christian lecturers. Reacting, all heads of departments wrote a protest letter to the Supreme Council, which recently overruled Franks decision, stating that the college which recently decreed 50 percent reservation of admissions for Christian students, does not subscribe to a faculty quota policy.
In an official statement made on July 18, Sunil Matthew, a Supreme Council spokesman, declared: There is no reservation for Christians in the colleges faculty. There has been a misunderstanding between the faculty and Dr. Frank regarding the appointment of two teachers in the history department. The Supreme Council has asked them to sort out their differences. Following this clarification, the Stephens faculty has been mollified and is making politically correct noises about striking the right balance between the colleges obligations towards the minority community and maintaining its high academic standards.
Autar Nehru (Delhi)