Public CompanySibal, central advisory body chalk out education agenda
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), at the 56th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), chalked out an extensive agenda for education in the country, based on the principles of expansion, inclusion and excellence.
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HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said education had to go beyond the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic, and include the challenges posed by employment and growth. He said Rs 2 lakh crore would be required to implement the Right to Education law. A shortfall of Rs 60,000 crore seems likely.
The Class X examination is being made optional from 2009-10 in the Central Board of Secondary Education and state boards can follow, based on the CBSE’s experience. A grading system would be put in place from 2009-10.
A core curriculum in mathematics and science would be formulated in two months, endorsed by the Council of Boards of School Education.
In higher education, Sibal said there would be stringent entry norms for universities to set shop in India. The independence of universities and their accreditation was another issue discussed by the CABE. “An independent accreditation body can assure complete autonomy of institutions.
CABE has endorsed the Yash Pal committee report that suggests the setting up an autonomous overarching authority for higher education and research called National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). NCHER will subsume in it agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), Medical Council of India (MCI) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The HRD Minister also stated that a Central Madrasa Board would be set up with representation from both clerics and educationists.