Page 10 - EW February 2023

Editorial

BASIC STRUCTURE MUST REMAIN INVIOLATE on the right to free speech and prop-
erty ownership, in the Kesavananda
Bharati Case (1973), the apex court
he clarion call of vice Presi- Constitution of India. ruled that legislation enacted by Par-
dent Jagdeep Dhankar and Lok The first point to bear in mind is liament which violates the basic struc-
TSabha Speaker Om Birla, for that unlike the UK, which doesn’t have ture of the Constitution — designed to
review of the Supreme Court’s judge- a written constitution, the Constitu- safeguard the fundamental rights of
ment in the landmark Kesavananda tion of India is a written document minority citizens — is invalid even if
Bharati Case (1973) in which (accept- whose every provision was extensively passed unanimously.
ing the argument of eminent jurist debated by a distinguished Constitu- In light of this history and evolu-
Nani Palkhivala (1920-2002)), the ent Assembly for almost four years. As tion of checks and balances and sepa-
Supreme Court held that legislation such, it’s binding upon all estates of ration of powers, it’s plain that the
enacted by Parliament which violates the realm — parliament, executive, the Dhankar-Birla proposal which posits
the “basic structure” of the Constitu- judiciary, media and citizenry. that Parliament has the final word in
tion is invalid, is fraught with danger. However as it became manifest national governance, is misconceived.
It should be opposed by all right- later, the Constitution contained Rather than Parliament/executive, it’s
thinking members of society. some anomalies, if not contradictions. the Constitution as interpreted by the
The argument of proponents of ju- Therefore in 1967 in Golak Nath’s Case, judiciary, that’s supreme.
dicial review of this historic judgement the apex court ruled that Article 368 If absolute authority to amend the
is driven by belief that Article 368, notwithstanding, Parliament does not Constitution is conceded to a transient
which permits a two-thirds majority have power to alter or abridge citizens’ Parliament with a five-year term, the
of Parliament to alter and amend any fundamental rights enshrined in Part BJP government with its two-thirds
provision of the Constitution, ipso fac- III of the Constitution, and the seven majority could enact legislation de-
to acknowledges the supremacy of a freedoms contained in Article 19. The claring India a Hindu state, an initia-
duly elected Parliament in the nation- court ruled that Parliament/govern- tive that would be totally contrary to
al governance schema. To grasp the ment may impose reasonable restric- the intent of the founding fathers of
fallacy of this argument based on the tions on fundamental rights subject to the Constitution. Therefore, the pro-
example of unlimited power exercised endorsement by the Supreme Court. posal to reconsider the verdict of the
by the British parliament (“the mother But with Parliament dominated by the apex court in the Kesavananda Case
of all parliaments”), it’s important to socialist Congress party continuing to should be firmly rejected by all right-
recall the evolutionary history of the enact legislation imposing restrictions thinking members of society.

IMPORTANT LESSON OF PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN new digital learning technologies.
Demonstrated capability of school
children countrywide to continue to
ontrary to alarmist headlines in lockdown was lifted in late 2021, the learn despite schools being under
mainstream media proclaiming percentage of class V children who can tight lockdown, is a clear signal that
Csteep learning loss experienced read and understand class II texts is traditional classroom pedagogies need
by children in elementary (class I- 42.8 percent, indicating slippage but to change. Clearly in-school children
VIII) education in rural India, care- not disaster. Likewise, the percentage must be given greater opportunity to
ful reading of the Annual Status of of class III children who can manage self-learn through exploration, dis-
Education Report (ASER) 2022 sug- two-digit subtraction sums fell from covery and experience with teachers
gests the opposite. Although because 28.2 percent in 2018 to 25.9 in 2022, transforming from sage-on-stage to
schools in India were ill-advisedly and who could manage three-digit di- guides-by-the-side of children. In the
shuttered for 82 weeks to check the vision sums from 27.9 percent to 25.6, early years of the new millennium,
spread of the Covid-19 pandemic — from bad to worse, but not by much. Prof. Sugata Mitra’s computer-in-
the longest education lockdown of any A clear lesson of the over-long pan- the-wall experiment demonstrated
major country worldwide — children demic lockdown is the resilience and that given access to new digital tech-
did experience some learning loss, the enthusiasm for learning that India’s nologies, even poorest children learn
damage they have suffered is not as school children have demonstrated. By quickly through experimentation and
severe as forecast. utilising household smart phones and experience. Minimal damage suffered
According to ASER 2022, in 2018 television — 93.3 percent of house- by way of learning loss despite the ex-
prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, holds nationwide own a smart phone, tended pandemic-induced lockdown
50.5 percent of class V children across and 67.8 percent own a television set of schools as testified by ASER 2022,
government and private rural prima- — enlisting the help of family elders is further proof that children must
ries were able to successfully read and through peer learning, relatively be given opportunities to learn dif-
and comprehend class II textbooks underprivileged rural children have ferently, viz, through challenge-and-
— a pathetic indictment of the qual- averted disastrous learning loss. Rela- response, peer-to-peer and digital
ity of education being dispensed in tively privileged urban children are pedagogies.
the country’s elementary education likely to have suffered even less learn- This important lesson derived from
system, but that’s another story. Sub- ing decline. Moreover, all children the longest lockdown of education in-
sequent to schools reopening after the have become better acquainted with stitutions worldwide, must not be lost.

10 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2023