Page 16 - EW July 2025_Neat

Education News

school education. While enrolment and universities — that top-down ernment will pay the amount into the
surged, especially after the free mid- control and micro-management bank account of their mothers who
day meal scheme was launched and doesn’t work. The best available op- will be required to pay school man-
incentives like free bicycles for girls tion is to leave academics and human agements Rs.13,000 towards fees and
were introduced in Bihar, learning resource development to academics. Rs.2,000 for institutional infrastruc-
outcomes remained stagnant. The Autar Nehru (Delhi) ture maintenance. The refreshing
unemployment crisis in the country departure from normative practice
is directly correlated to this educa- ANDHRA PRADESH is that all children — whether in gov-
tion trajectory of the past three ernment or private schools and junior
decades. There is no awareness of CBN’s bold initiative colleges — from EWS households, are
this in government and NEP 2020, entitled to this subsidy. The subsidy
glosses over this foundational issue,” alliki vandanam (‘salutations amount payable from the start of the
says Mehrotra. to mother’), a new scheme current academic year 2025-26 to an
Other critics are inclined to be Tlaunched by Andhra Pradesh’s estimated 4.3 million mothers will
harsher. Writing in the Chennai- Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which benefit an estimated 6.7 million chil-
based daily, The Hindu (May 14), was returned to power with an over- dren statewide.
Bengaluru-based professors Gau- whelming majority in the legislative “No matter how many children a
tam Desiraju and Mirle Surappa assembly election of 2024 to boost family has, all studying from class I to
at the Indian Institute of Science and K-12 enrolments statewide, has pro- Intermediate (class 12) will be covered
National Institute of Advanced Stud- voked a major controversy. under this scheme. The goal is to make
ies respectively, describe NEP 2020 Not only the opposition Congress school education better, give equal
as a “dead fish in the water”. party but several respected econo- chance to all students, and help them
According to them, the high rate mists have raised red flags warning learn more. The scheme also wants
of educated unemployment at 42 mothers to play a bigger
percent indicates that “NEP is out- role in their children’s
dated and financially unviable in the education journey,” said
India of 2025”. “Lip service is paid to a senior official of the
new ideas such as Indian knowledge TDP government who
systems, mother tongue learning, added that this “mother
changing history textbooks, flexible of all welfare schemes”
curricula (but there is) complete will motivate families
absence of methodology to effect its to have more children
recommendations…” to address falling birth
gainst this darkening backdrop, rates and manage fu-
Ait’s noteworthy that in terms ture population needs,
of its aims, objectives and prescrip- according to an India
tions, NEP 2020 bears uncanny Today online report
resemblance to its predecessor NEP AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu (June 18).
1986 which it is painfully clear, had However, some in-
no success in halting the downward that the huge payout of Rs.9,407 formed economists have criticised the
slide of Indian education. There’s crore for the scheme, which will be scheme as being driven by “reckless
similar prospect of NEP 2020, noble added to the state’s education bud- populism” disguised as a programme
in intent, but prescribing more of the get of Rs.29,861 crore (out of a total to promote children’s education.
same, suffering the same fate. budgeted expenditure of Rs.2,79,279 “There’s no guarantee that usually il-
In the circumstances, perhaps crore for 2025-26) will prove ruinous. literate EWS mothers have sufficient
the best option for government is Under the Talliki Vandanam agency to spend Talliki Vandanam al-
to ignore the numerous supervisory scheme, all children from EWS (eco- locations for the intended purpose. On
control-and-command mandates of nomically weaker section) households the contrary, this populist giveaway
NEP 2020 and expedite its recom- with annual incomes of Rs.10,000 scheme may generate household dis-
mendation to confer autonomy to (rural) and Rs.15,000 (urban) — and/ cord and prove impossible to admin-
education institutions across the or land, buildings and consumer du- ister. It seems to have been inspired
spectrum. History of the past lost rables below specified limits — en- by the expensive giveaway schemes —
decades has provided ample proof rolled in K-12 classes of recognised free bus rides for women, rations and
— by way of sub-standard learning schools, are entitled to a cash subsidy electricity — in neighbouring Karna-
outcomes in India’s schools, colleges of Rs.15,000 per year. The state gov- taka, which has ruined the fiscal sta-

16 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2025