Gandhinagar/Kolkata Union Minister Kapil Sibal’s radical education reform ideas now face the long haul of a battle with the states, a battle that may not be only political.

For, the BJP government in Gujarat was the first to publicly welcome his idea of scrapping the Class X Board exam and putting in place an alternative evaluation mechanism, the Left-ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala saw it as a conspiracy to “over-centralise and privatise” education, even disturb the federal structure.

The Uttar Pradesh government, meanwhile, said it did not agree with Sibal and had, instead, introduced its own set of reforms to ease the burden on students and “maintain the sanctity” of the Class X examination.

“If the Centre takes a decision to abolish the Class 10 Board examination in all states, Gujarat will follow suit”, assured State Education Minister Ramanlal Vora. Gujarat Principal Secretary (Education) Hasmukh Adhia told The Indian Express that the government was waiting for an official communication from the Centre.

Said Gujarat Government spokesman and Health Minister Jay Narayan Vyas: “If the Centre evolves such a model through consensus, we will welcome it. Before taking any decision to abolish the Board examination, there should be a national debate involving state education Ministers and academic experts so that such a model can be introduced and implemented uniformly across the country”.

In fact, abolition of the Board examination is one of the terms of reference of the Gujarat Education Innovation Commission set up by the government to suggest “innovations in the present education system,” said Vyas. This commission is headed by Joshi, Education Advisor to Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In sharp contrast, the CPM-led Left Front government in West Bengal slammed the idea. Speaking to The Indian Express, School Education Minister Partha De said that the Left would “never agree” to such a policy that is an “attempt to privatise and over-centralise education.”

“Six months ago, I wrote on this in the CPM mouthpiece Ganashakti and even shot off letters to all political parties to oppose such a move,” said De. “The ability to deal with pressure depends a lot on grooming and the mental ability of a child. You cannot say that the pressure is there and so scrap the examination.”

He said that school education is dependent on the government and on government-aided schools and by doing away with the Board examination, the Centre “would help private schools to function as per their will.”

But Abdus Sattar, Minister in charge of Minority Affairs and the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education, said he was open to Sibal’s idea of a separate board to deal with the madrasah system but it needed a lot more thought. “There are glaring gaps in infrastructure and the teacher-student ratio across schools in the state and we will need to address that,” he said.

Sattar said that the policy challenge is to ensure parity between a student from a Madhaymik Siksha Kendra in a village and one from a well-heeled private school affiliated to the same board with the same curriculum and the same pattern of examination .

“Quality assesment is easy when you have quality institutions and we have to keep in mind that ours is a country of great diversity, we are not like any developed, European country. But we are open to discussion,” he said.

The Trinamool Congress, too, was wary. Saugata Roy, Union Minister of State for Urban Development, and a former teacher, said that a decision which involves millions of students across the country cannot be rushed through. “I do not know the details of what Kapil Sibal has suggested. But such a decision requires intense discussion and debate,” Roy said.

In Kerala, Education Minister M A Baby said the state school board examination could not be abolished in such a “silly” manner. “Education is on the Concurrent list of the Constitution. We hope the Centre will not take a unilateral, hasty decision on the matter, having far-reaching social implications. Kerala will raise its concern with the Centre,” he said.