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Indeed, most of the critical legislation relating to this sector would be in place by the end of the budget session of Parliament in March 2010, he said at the event jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and World Economic Forum in New Delhi.
These reforms would need to bring in flexibility, transparency and quality in education in India, he added.
Inviting the private sector to participate in a big way in India’s education agenda, Sibal emphatically delineated the distinction between ‘profit’ and ‘surplus,’ stating that enterprises must be allowed to make surpluses to be ploughed back into the sector. “We cannot allow education to be exposed to risk factors,” he stressed.
The minister outlined several key challenges. India needs to prepare the critical mass of students to be ready for higher education, he said, pointing out that at present, only 12 per cent of the 220 million children who go to school in India reach college level.
The target is to increase this to 30 per cent by year 2020, he said. There are huge gaps in the skills development sphere too, that need urgent attention, said Sibal, with only around 12 per cent of India’s 509 million young employed people equipped with the right skills.
Richard C Levin, President, Yale University, USA, felt that developing access was ‘doable’ with resources and political will. However, building world class institutions was much harder, and takes decades, he said. Mr Levin felt that partnerships and affiliations with foreign universities was a more viable proposition in the present term, than expecting great universities to establish themselves in this geography.
Access, Affordability and Accountability are the key pillars to develop a sound education system, pointed out William D. Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture.
His company’s world wide agenda of “Skills to Succeed” sought to address the need to raise the ‘water table’ in the tank, by making more people employable, he said, pointing to the need for a ‘horizontal’ approach across the board, along with the ‘vertical’ one of building world class institutions.
Rajendra S. Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Group, India, suggested that mobility to students to move between different streams, and between vocational and formal education, establishment of an independent regulatory authority and letting the market principle operate in terms of what to teach and what to charge, would make education more open to both students and parents, as well as investors.
Anand Sudarshan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Manipal Education India, called for a more diverse approach and the creation of a national mindset that gave respectability to vocational education.
We need to develop excellence at each rung of the ladder, he said.
Shantanu Prakash, Managing Director, Educomp Solutions, India, too, regretted that India was a degree-obsessed country. We need to harness the vast intellectual capacity that India possesses to draw investment into Education in India, he said.
Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation India, highlighted the key role technology could play in making education accessible and affordable, especially at the higher education level.
Expressing confidence that the government’s initiatives in Education, in terms of far-reaching reforms, establishing infrastructure and encouraging public-private-partnerships and tie-ups would bear fruit, Sibal felt that India could, in time, develop into an education hub. Then, he said, the most reputed institutions in the world too would be keen to test the Indian waters.
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In order to keep a track of school dropouts, there can be a separate website that maintains the data related to school drop outs and attends to the queries from school dropouts on day to day basis.The data should include such details like name of the drop out, address,details of parents, reason for dropout, name of school last attended and class studied etc. Effectivenes of such a website lies in effective promotion of internet as a self development tool to both primary as well as high school students.
As part of the reform process, irrespective of medium of instruction, both for primary and high school students internet should be promoted as a self development tool. In order to make the students use internet with out any difficulty, all the necessary inputs needs to be given to the students. Even in the absence of a teacher, the students should be in a position to use internet as a guide that helps them to find solutions to any problem they encounter either in academics or out side academics. In every class especially at primary school level as well as at high school where school drop out rate is seen prominently stress should be laid on efficient use of internet as a self development tool.
As part of the reforms in education sector, it would be worth to redefine the present defing the term "Literate". The term "Literate" should be so defined so as to encourage one to acquire knowledge on how to use internet. Because one who is capable of using internet, shall try to use internet for self development and in the long run entire society shall be benefitted owing to extensive usage of internet by the masses.
Reformation is not as easy as the dialogue and discussions. India's basic education system is well respected everywhere and that's how, whereever Indians join excellency start. While travelling different parts of the world, I could feel that our standard is indeed high. However, what's lacking is PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE, CERTAIN DEGREE OF HONESTY, MORALISM, INTEGRITY,SENSE OF FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCY IN CHARACTER and Lack of TRANSPARENCY IN the system. DECISION MAKERS IN ACADEMIC COMMITTEE ARE BIASED. IN SCIENTIFIC WORLD, PLAGIARISM IS GRADUALLY DOMINATING DUE TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED BAD POINTS INCULCATED IN OUR CHARACTER. ACADEMIC/TEACHING COMMINITY WAS/IS EXPOILTED SO MUCH IN TERMS OF SALARY THAT THEY ARE GRADULLY FOLLOWING THE PATH OF CORRUPTION LOSING BASIC QUALITIES. CAN OUR HON'BLE MHRD MINISTER SOLVE THESE EXISTING PROBLEMS? PLEASE THINK OF REVOLUTION ONLY AFTER SOLVING THE BASIC PROBLEMS, OTHERWISE. IT WOULD ACT AS A STUMBLING BLOCK TO COLLAPSE OUR SYSTEM.
about 50 per cent of jobs are reserved for sc,st,obcand other backward classes. FOR RETRENCHEMENT AND LAYOFF ALSO THERE SHOULD BE SAME PERCENTAGE------RESERVATION CANNOT BE ONE SIDED---IF ONE PUBLIC SECTOR DECIDES TO RETRENCH 10,000 EMPLOYEES 50 PER CENT SHOULD BE FROM SC,ST AND OBC
THIS MAN RICHAR LEVIN FROM AMERICAN YALE UNIVERSITY HAS ONLY AGENDA "BUSINESS" HE CERTAINLY CAN NOT HAVE ANY INTEREST AT HEART FOR BETTER INDIAN EDUCATION. IN ANYCASE IF AT TALL THERE IS ANY NEED OF IMPROVEMENT IN INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM, IT CERTAINLY IS NOT WITH BRINGING IN U.S. SYSTEM AND INSTITUTIONS WHICH ARE ABSOULTELY NOT BETTER THAN INDIANS FOR SURE.
MR. SIBBAL: DO YOU KNOW LESS THAN 20% OF U.S. POPULATION HAVE COLLEGE DEGREE? THIS IS THE SO CALLED COUNTRY NUMBER ONE ON WHICH YOU AND YOUR PM ARE BENT UPON ADOPTING EVERYTHING FROM AND PUSHING DOWN THROAT OF INDIAN PEOPLE BY OUTSIDE FORCE. WHY BOTHER ABOUT 12% INDIAN CHILDREN WHICH IN ANY CASE IS A QUESTIONABLE NUMBER PRODUCED FROM NOWHERE BY YOU. INDIAN EDUCATION WAS ALWAYS ON TOP OF THE WORLD UNTILL PEOPLE LIKE YOU UNDER THE LEADRSHIP OF PM STARTED SYSTEMATICALLY SELLING OF INDIA PEACE BY PEACE TO THE FOREGIN POWER.
I hope 'personality development' is made an essential part of every school's curriculum. This is sadly missing. There is too much emphasis on gaining knowledge, passing exams and getting grades and ranks. The good aspects of the British and IB curriculums, such as questioning by students, investigations, understanding concepts, and application of concepts should also be introduced in teaching methods in schools.
Nowadays it seems quality means costly education. Many of top class institution charging exhorbitant fees. Education sector became like Fish market(based Demand
Why is UGC freezing recruitment despite the open advertisement calling applications for filling up posts in universities. Where do qualified people for recruitment as lecturers/professors in colleges or universities go? The UGC is so damn confused and inefficient themselves regarding NET/ PHd qualifications in the process making the qualified remain unemployed. It is a waste of time, experience and livelihood for so many. Will UGC for once decide what it wants out of PhD degree holders?