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Apply, apply. No reply 2. In recent months, the Centre has devolved the decision to
reopen schools and education institutions on state govern-
common feature of all education ministers of the BJP/NDA ments. However, when do you propose to restart the Central
A government at the Centre (except Prakash Javadekar) is government KVs, JNVs and universities?
that they have resolutely declined to respond to Education- 3. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was formally
World’s repeated requests for interviews to explain the elabo- released in July 2020, over a year ago. But perhaps because
rate policies and plans they draw up for the world’s largest of the pandemic, it has not gained traction. What are your first
child and youth population. This despite the globally unique EW three priorities for implementing NEP 2020?
being India’s #1 education newsmagazine with over 1 million 4. Despite a Supreme Court judgement ruling that choice of
print and online readers. medium of instruction for children is of parents, NEP 2020 has
Shortly after he was sworn in as the new Union minister for recommended mother tongue as the medium of instruction in
education on July 7, your editor sent several emails, SMS and primary education. What’s your comment?
made numerous phone calls to Dharmendra Pradhan to respond 5. Notwithstanding the Supreme Court judgement in the
to the following questions in a Zoom interview or in writing. T.M.A. Pai Foundation Case (2002), almost all state govern-
Typically, he failed and neglected to acknowledge or re- ments have enacted legislation to control and cap tuition fees
spond to a questionnaire as under, raising doubts about his charged by private schools. What’s your comment?
comprehension of the grammar of democratic governance 6. Against the global average of 5 percent, India’s annual
and/or suitability for his new office. The innocuous questions outlay (Centre plus states) for education has averaged 3.5
posed: percent for over seven decades. Several expert committees
1. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic having have recommended that it should be urgently raised to 6
forced shutdown of all education institutions from preschools percent. Do you agree?
to universities for almost 60 weeks — the world’s longest aca- 7. What’s your timeframe to ensure globally benchmarked
demic closure — what are your Top 5 priorities for placing QEFA (quality education for all) in India?
Indian education back on the rails? 8. Any other comment?
my and greater government belatedly passing the buck to
regulation could generate a state governments, is indicated
whirlpool, is perhaps the by a recent report of the parlia-
lesser problem confronting mentary standing committee
Pradhan in his new hot seat on education (that parliament
in Shastri Bhavan, Delhi. A in perpetual chaos hasn’t found
more immediate and com- any time to discuss this critical
plex challenge that needs issue is another story, see edit p.
urgent attention is to place 10). According to the standing
the entire national educa- committee’s report, 240 mil-
tion system, shutdown for lion children countrywide have
16 months and counting — missed school for over a year;
the longest education lock- 70 percent of children have no
down worldwide — after the access to online instruction;
outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic-hit out-of-school children in Delhi “online education is not real
pandemic in March 2020 education”, and dropouts have
— back on the rails. for the study haven’t accessed any re- increased in secondary education.
Even as elite and upper middle mote learning content in the year after Therefore Pradhan, with his limit-
class urban households have smoothly schools closed in March 2020. Worse, ed experience of managing a ministry
switched to ICT (information commu- 36 percent of girls and 33 percent boys which has mass-contact implications,
nication technologies)-enabled learn- in the 14-18 age group didn’t access has been thrown into a deep gorge
ing from home, the loss of learning remote learning content either. and is confronted with the challenge
for the majority of India’s 500 mil- The impact of the huge damage of scaling two mountains simultane-
lion children and youth has been hu- that the knee-jerk decision taken in ously — repairing the massive damage
mongous. According to a recent study March 2020 by the BJP/NDA govern- suffered by the country’s education
conducted by the India office of Unicef ment to immediately and comprehen- system during the 60 weeks pandemic
(School Closures in the Context of Co- sively shut down all education institu- lockdown and placing it back on track,
vid, 2021), 42 percent children in the tions countrywide, and to persist with and also implementing NEP 2020.
5-13 age group in six states surveyed this decision for over 52 weeks before Like his predecessors (except Ja-
SEPTEMBER 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 45