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With DU yet to find records, Smriti Irani’s degree remains a mystery

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After carrying out relentless searches, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s bachelor’s degree seems to have consigned to oblivion by the University of Delhi. Failing to furnish documentary evidence of Irani’s educational qualifications, the Assistant Registrar of School of Open Learning (SOL), DU, Mr. O.P. Tanwar was quoted as saying, “1996 documents related to her BA are yet to be found,” as he addressed the court.

The varsity’s move came in response to the court’s earlier order for summoning the minister’s documents from its School of Open Learning department on the allegation of a discrepancy in the affidavits she filed in 2004 and 2011. While her 2004 affidavit claims that she completed her BA in 1996, another affidavit by her for the 2011 Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat mentions her highest qualification as B.Com (Part I) from DU.

The case, which came into limelight following a complaint by Ahmer Khan, a freelance writer, Smriti Irani’s educational status has been in question ever since. The complainant had alleged that the HRD minister had deliberately produced false affidavits and thus is liable for punishment under relevant sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code) and under section 125A of Representation of the People Act (RPA). Section 125A of RPA deals with penalty for filing false affidavit and entails a jail term of upto six months or fine or both.

The Assistant Registrar also informed the court that Irani’s Class 12 documents, submitted along with the admission form of B.Com (H) course, were yet to be found. He was however quick to add that “verification must have been done before the admission”, as he was quoted by a national daily.

However, it seems like faking one’s educational degree is the new fad that’s become increasingly popular with our politicians and PM Narendra Modi has become the recent victim of this trend.

Talking about the issue, Teacher Representative of Executive Council, University of Delhi, Ms. Abha Dev Habib told us, “Whether it is the degree of the HRD Minister or the PM, it will be unfortunate if they make claims of having a degree they don’t hold in the first place. And it is strange that the university doesn’t have records. There is definitely pressure but this is nothing less than a blatant excuse. To me, degree doesn’t matter, but the ministers are the role models for the general public and information must be furnished by the varsity on the same.”

Commenting on the current state of the Ministry of Education’s working, she added, “I am not disappointed that she doesn’t have a degree, what I am disappointed with is the continuos interference of the ministry in the education system. The hasty implementation of CBCS system in less than 7 months is the biggest case in point. It is all about rational thinking and a scientific temperament to be able to take decisions, degree doesn’t matter here.” Also talking about the recent controversy surrounding the degree of PM Modi, she further connoted, ” The PM wants to talk to the nation on Mann Ki Baat but what perturbs me is his silence on issues of importance. Whatever the degree may be, it should be truthfully embraced.”

The court also asked SDM of north Delhi to bring documents filed by Irani with the affidavit for contesting 2004 polls from Chandni Chowk constituency here and fixed the matter for further hearing on June 6. The pivotal question here however remains whether power gives an easy escape route to politicians to distort their educational qualifications.

We previously did a report on the suspension of 5 officials of School of Open Learning for leaking documents related to the HRD Minister. You may take a look at the report here. 

Image credits: timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

Riya Chhibber

[email protected] 

 

 

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Why I’ll never approve of the ‘coaching classes’ culture

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I distinctly remember when I entered grade 8 of school, coaching institutes were wooing their potential candidates, lecturing children as young as 12 and 13 on ‘success’ and how one achieves success by cracking an ABC entrance exam after which they gets a nice ‘package’ and settle in life. It was all aversive to me, how people would pay so much to sit in a cramped classroom where mock tests decided your self worth.

What I saw was very obvious to me, but it wasn’t to my fellow schoolmates who did decide to sign up for coaching. My parents’ anxiety loomed each day as I continued to refuse coaching classes. I get where my parents’ anxiety comes from. It is indeed very hard to get a respectable, good earning job in this country without stomping on thousands of others, including your peers. ‘Cutthroat competition’ although a buzzword today, quite effectively describes the situation.

This anxiety is omnipresent and coaching institutes, vicious enough in their business strategies decide to tap these anxieties to squeeze out money from the masses. A lot of those include people from poor backgrounds, without means to access proper education who only seek a better life after investing hard earned life savings.

Coaching institutes which boast of guiding students to gain the top ranks in exams seek to reduce the individuals to their most marketable essence. The totality of their existence is judged by the decimal digits that follow 99 and they are confined to their passport sized photos on a large banner along with their All India Ranking (Much to everyone’s suspicion, all the toppers seem to be associated with all the coaching institutes)

Coaching culture is so widespread and accepted that most of actually consider it a basic necessity in getting an education. That explains the sorry state out higher education system is in, where school and college teachers wouldn’t ever give a damn about a student’s further studies.

When I learnt that earning money is not just the end motive but the soul motive of coaching centres, I refused to acknowledge their credibility. Why do I hear about people who crack Civil Service exams, only to quit their jobs after a few months to teach a class where they earn in lakhs? Why do IIT graduates, instead of giving back to the government that invests so much in them, vow to make you the next IITian?  

Education in India is not a transmission of knowledge but actually a very strategic trade. Coaching institutes are seemingly the throne bearers of this trade.

 

Kartikeya Bhatotia

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India and the WTO-GATS Agreement: Yes or No?

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The World Trade Organisation deals with the formulation and implementation of international trade rules. Its objectives also include raising the standards of living in member nations, ensuring full employment and expanding the production of goods and services. A Ministerial Conference, that is held every two years, conducts the business of the WTO. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) implies that WTO members have varying degrees of commitments in individual service sectors, like transport, education, banking and health.

At the Nairobi Ministerial Conference, slated to take place from 15th to 18th December, 2015, education is on the agenda. India is expected to sign the WTO-GATS agreement at Nairobi, according to which foreign direct investment will be permitted in the education sector. Foriegn universities will set up their campus in the country, and this entails service charges. The WTO will also be given the rights to control India’s education policy through its own accreditation body. Those opposed to this agreement claim that it transforms education into a ‘tradeable service,’ thereby commercialising an important aspect of public welfare. Once the education sector is placed within the purview of WTO norms, it is alleged that the people’s right to education will be rendered redundant, denying education to the poor.

Once it is considered a ‘commodity’ that can be traded in, the sanctity of education will be destroyed. Commercialisation of the education sector can lead to the destruction of the autonomy that academic institutions may enjoy in terms of the syllabus or academic research. Those companies that ‘trade’ in education will be wooed, and their interests protected by the government. Education will then become a ‘market,’ governed by the forces that all markets that trade in goods and services are subject to.

The mere presence of foreign universities in the country can only be beneficial, however, if the purpose of this entry into the country is business and profit, the overall quality of education in the country will only be hampered. The commodification of an essential service, and global trade in the said service, can have two consequences- in India, it can either provide Indian students access to foreign universities and their resources, or contrarily, it can lead to a decline in the overall quality of education in the country owing to unnecessary institutional and administrative influences and restrictions. Thus, India’s stand on the WTO-GATS agreement must be carefully considered, with the Indian education sector in mind.

 

Sources: http://thecompanion.in/fight-against-inclusion-of-higher-education-in-wto/

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-11/news/64308981_1_general-agreement-education-sector-service-charges

Abhinaya Harigovind

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Jobs vs Master’s: The Third Year Dilemma

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For every third year student, the next few months are bound to be hard. Most of them are stuck in a dilemma about whether to pursue their Master’s degree or take up a job. This decision is critical as well as highly difficult. Adding to that, this decision is extremely subjective as well. Here are a few points that’ll help you decide:

 

  • Corporate Firms and MBA

It is common for commerce students to look for a job right after their graduation. There are certain reasons behind it. Some do it for work experience before doing an MBA, some enjoy working and they never do an MBA and some start their own businesses. For people working so that they can get some significant experience on their resume, their choice is stable (provided their resume is strong) and it will help their employability after their studies. Some IIMs demand work experience during interviews. For people who end up never doing a Master’s degree, things can be dodgy, unless they have the ability to reach to the top positions in a firm. But there is quick money if this is the choice.

 

  • Academics

In case someone is interested in an academic profile, a Master’s is a must. It is better to complete a Master’s course as early as possible. This is primarily because qualifying tests for academics such as NET and JRF are only open up to a certain age. Adding to that, one will not be eligible to teach unless they have a Masters degree.

 

  • Civil Services

This is a pretty subjective area. For people looking for State level exams and General Services, a graduation is sufficient for applying for a civil services exam. However in case someone is inclined to apply for an IES or ISS profile they require a Master’s degree in Economics or Statistics. Hence a Master’s is a better option in this case.

 

  • Civil Society

This is also a pretty subjective field. The profiles here are very vast. Every profile requires a certain qualification. For high level research openings a Master’s is definitely required. However for a data entry or survey position a graduation degree is generally sufficient but it depends on the organization.

 

  • For Scientific Research

This is quite obvious. A Master’s degree is necessary to pursue a career in scientific research, preferably followed by a PHD.

 

Ishaan Sengupta
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Why rankings don’t matter but quality education does: A closer look at DU’s 81st spot

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Quacquarelli Symonds Rankings or better known as simply QS Rankings released Asian Universities Ranking List on May 13, 2014. While the sciences fared better by getting impressive spots (IIT Delhi-38th , IIT Bombay- 41st), the traditional universities such as University of Delhi, Benares Hindu University, University of Calcutta scored satisfactorily.

While rankings in general seldom matter in the overall assessment of an institution, the quality of education offered by an institute is surely a matter of concern. Once, a renowned magazine published a list of colleges in India that are at at the top for a particular course and later it was found that the college on #1 did not even offer that course! While this is not to cause ill repute to  the nature of rankings and deter anyone from looking at rankings for making their personal decisions, but shift the focus from the numerical value of a rank to the qualitative assessment of an institution on the basis of certain parameters that WE deem important for OUR personal growth, not dictated by the parameters preferential to the authorities distributing ranks.

Moving on, the University of Delhi has been controversy’s favorite child for quite a while. Whether it be the FYUP or the autocratic non-democratic functioning of the Padma Shri VC, it has numerous issues that need to be dealt with. Here is my list of the changes that I would like to see in DU being implemented, which I believe can raise the quality of education, and maybe subsequently the unimportant rankings too-

1)  Inclusion of a Statement of Purpose in the admissions process

Much has been said about how the Board Examination marks are not indicative of a person’s potential, except that of his potential to rote learn and present it on paper. In addition to this, what is important is that even if a student is not passionate about his subjects, he can still score decently in the Boards because of the way in which our evaluation system is structured; we don’t assess the student’s grasp over the concept, but how the concept has been put on paper.

Almost all international universities have the concept of writing a statement of purpose wherein the student is required to explain why he wants to do a particular course. This is not only reflective of the student’s passion for the subject but also helps the examiner gauge how much has the student engaged with the subject, how much has he mulled over the concepts and theories and most importantly, is he actively thinking about the subject? The amount of engagement a person has had with his subject prior to admission is also important as it is a significant marker of the future projects you’ll undertake once admitted to the University and even beyond that.

This becomes crucial in the context of improving the University’s admission of students, the research wing of the University and the larger intellectual ethos.

2) Valuing quality education over mere employability

One of the key arguments put forth by the VC in favor of FYUP was that it will increase the employability of students. While there is nothing wrong with concerns over the employment generation for the larger demographic dividend of the country, the problem arises when you begin to mould the intellect of the students in order to satisfy the larger market ideologies that are seldom governed by thirst for knowledge but rather by a production oriented approach that seeks to garner more money and eye balls through the medium of their undertaken projects. Think tanks are few in India, and for them a drive towards knowledge supersedes any other drive that the university is trying to impose upon us.

It is slowly creating a structure for students that designs them to submit to market oriented strategies rather than giving free way to the cultivation if the imagination of students. Moves such as FYUP are constant reminders of the regressive mentality of “padh likh ke afsar bano” that plagues the Indian mind. Rather, the end of education should be a refinement of one’s own intellect and personality that gives us the potential to negotiate with the world, carve our won way and create our own employments sans the “help” of FYUP.

3) The structure of the course and subsequent evaluation

Our course structure is designed in a way that even if a student has not studied the entire semester, and opens the book 2 days prior to exams, he can still score well, the reason being that the marking scheme is a set of extremely loose ended parameters that seldom negatively reinforce bad arguments and end up distributing marks. The previous Semester, I started studying 2 weeks before the exams and scored the fifth highest in college, not too bad, eh?

I’m not taking any moral stance on how many hours a student needs to put in for study, but what I’m stressing on is that a paper doesn’t evaluate how much has the student engaged with the subject. It involves a routine set of questions with a routine set of answers that can help you score decently well.

Processes such as writing term papers helps the examiner assess how much has the student gone beyond the text and made attempts to come up with his own theories and rhetoric, something absolutely essential in the process of education. There are also provisions for designing your own course in many masters level courses where you can decide what all you want to study, and except for a few compulsory credits you can custom make your course as it helps in writing your thesis in future.

4) Inclusion of radical political philosophies with the dominant ones

This might appear a little out of place but allow me to put it into context. In the 1970’s during the 2nd wave feminist movement in India, the University was an important breeding ground for several front runners of the movement. Also, the University has been the place where radical political philosophies of Communism have taken shape and been accommodated into the larger political scenario.

But now there is an indirect polarization of political philosophies, and binaries are too quick to be created in terms of political affiliations. Also, the amount of freedom students enjoyed earlier to protest against issues has diminished, because of the advent of the autocratic administration of the university.

It is important to locate the socio-political importance of an environment that actively accommodates dissenters. A lot of students who were active in student politics in Delhi University went on to become some of the most important public commentators, social rights activists, intellectuals, and so on. Accommodation of dissent should not looked upon as a threat to establishment but as a way to create citizens who’re more aware of their identity and existence and who dare to carve their own niche in the world that is constantly seeking to kill individuality.

As a secondary thing, it is also a matter of great repute for a University in retrospect to produce people like these, who contribute to making the world a better place and bring the margins to the mainstream.

 

In conclusion, Delhi University till now has produced almost all of the present academia and intelligentsia of India by virtue of its professors and curriculum designed to make a student bloom to his fullest potential. What is important is to incorporate more divergent ideas and lay emphasis on the quality of education than being driven by dominant mainstream approaches.

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Meerut’s Razia Sultan awarded UN Malala Award

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Some archaic manuscripts dating back to the thirteenth century have acquainted us with the name of Razziya al-din, popularly known throughout the history as Razia Sultan, the only female ruler of both the Sultanate and the Mughal period. In defiance of the customary norms, Razia spurned the usage of the title “Sultana”, meaning the wife or mistress of the Sultan, and instead, and quite magnificently if one tries to imagine, answered only to the title of “Sultan”. Nearly eight centuries later, another Razia Sultan has answered to a custom in defiance.

Born in the Nanglakhumba Village of Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, a coy and dainty Razia Sultan has received the first United Nations Malala Award for educating child labourers. She will also be commended as the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education. The silent revolutionary odyssey began when Razia was rescued by a non-governmental organization from the job of stitching footballs in decrepit tenements in her village, a job she had been doing since the age of four like many other girls. Subsequently, in a heralding development, Razia attended school and became the chieftain to the cause of other child labourers, having rescued 48 children till now. Eventually, Razia expanded her frontiers and voiced the need for child education outside her district and even other countries like Nepal, prudently backed by the non-governmental organization all the way.

While on one hand there is a world where people know the counterproductive trivia about Jabulani football except the cryptic information as to how or where it is made, on the other hand there’s a world where people do not know anything but ‘that’ cryptic information. For instance, Razia Sultan’s father not at all wary of the importance of the honour conferred on his daughter by the United Nations, was quoted as saying, “We didn’t even know that this award is of great importance. Now, we are feeling very proud of her. I cannot express my happiness in words.”

Elated as Razia is, she is not keen to be swept by the mesmerising adulation and considers the honour as a step closer towards her real goal to spread child education because for all she knows, stitching footballs was never her calling in life. And for all we know, though we have no means to affirm it, Razziya al-din would have taken pride in the magnitude of justice done to her name.

(Also see: Malala Yousafzai: The Voice of Change)

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Malala Yousafzai: The Voice of Change

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On 9th October 2012, terror was prepared to claim it’s next victim- Malala Yousafzai. A young activist fighting for the girl’s right to education in the Swat district of Pakistan, Malala was shot by Taliban on her way home from school. But as fate would have it, the fighter was not going to succumb to a metal cylinder.

The terror attack could not dampen her spirits or her will to live and after a long struggle against death, she is back on her feet, determined to finish what she started. In her first speech at the United Nations on 12th  July 2012, Malala spoke about terrorism, education, peace and the empowered woman of today. The address was a celebration of the teenager’s birthday and what the world organisation labelled as the “Malala Day”.

They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. Weakness, Fear and Hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.

As I watch that 16 year old girl speak, I am both dumbstruck and amazed. With her humble attire yet determined beliefs, the only instant emotion is respect. For one, her confidence and strength is far beyond the number of her age. The forgiveness imbibed is an inspiration for any non-believer.

In her near 18-minute speech, Yousafzai talked about how the dreams of young children are being crushed in the wake of terrorism, child labour, poverty and handicapped prejudices. Drawing inspiration from great leaders like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi, Malala plans to tread the path of non-violence in her fight against terrorism and discrimination against the girl child. It’s not about anyone’s personal vendetta, it’s about fighting for change and a life of dignity, peace and equal opportunities. Education is the biggest weapon that humanity has against terrorism. Educating children would mean saving them from falling prey to the stunted ideologies of a few who believe in wrecking havoc and claiming lives of innocent people for their personal satisfaction.

A girl who was shot just because she wanted education has much to complain about. But instead of using this as platform to voice her anger against all those who have wronged her, she used this opportunity to lend her voice to those who have been silenced by terrorism, oppression and discrimination. Malala demands education even for the children of the very Talibs that shot her.

The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them.

The speech and the journey of Yousafzai raises yet another grave concern. Which way is humanity headed? In a world where the children are killed for demanding their rights and thousands of innocent people are executed just because they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, how can any of us expect a stable future? Even if after progressing to a stage where a computer means a window to the entire world, if the security and well being of millions is questionable, then all this progress has been for nothing. While one child is blowing up money buying expensive phones and another is off to study in a University half way across the world, others are not only being deprived of bare necessities but his very existence is under the scanner in the face of terrorism. And why just children, men-women, rich-poor, Indian-French- is the certainty of returning back home safely, without being caught in a cross fire of degenerated ideologies too much to ask for?

‘We realize the importance of light when we see darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.’

If the voices of freedom are not raised soon enough, they’ll be bound and chained by their own cowardice.

Let there be several voices that are raised. Let there be more Malalas.

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Capitalising education

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-Kriti Budhiraja

In his first innings as a politician, Dr Manmohan Singh liberated our economy. In his second, as prime minister, he brought about a paradigm shift in … our foreign policy… Our guess, and wish, is that he now does to our higher education what he did to our economy and foreign policy in 1991 and 2008, respectively.

–         Shekhar Gupta

Indeed, the signals being sent out by Kapil Sibal, however vague, make an unmistakable case for the extension of neoliberalism into the sphere of higher education. In this vein, the HRD Ministry has proposed alternatives that would allow for greater ‘freedom’ and ‘autonomy’.

However, much like the economic reforms of 1991 and the paradigm shift in foreign policy reaffirmed by the nuclear deal, such promises aren’t exactly benevolent commitments to freedom. Instead, as Kavita Krishnan points out, phrases such as ‘autonomy’ and ‘freedom’ are essentially neoliberal euphemisms for freeing the state from its responsibility to provide for higher education, which is now proposed to be tied to the diktats of the market.

While it may be too soon to be sure of its specific consequences, it wouldn’t be ill-founded to fear that market forces are proposed to have an upper-hand in deciding syllabi and funding research, which could lead to the systematic marginalization of the social sciences. Further, if education turns into a money-making enterprise, it may become highly inaccessible to a large number of people. Moreover, lack of government interference in the selection process of faculty and students could possibly mean an attempt to thwart the reservation policy, which is of absolute importance given our sociological context.

Indeed, the need of the hour is to do a serious re-assessment of the situation of education in India, while keeping in mind the specificities of our context. While change is certainly imperative, quick-fix infiltration of private capital is not the most promising solution.  Instead, it would be useful for us to consider problems relating to access to education, quality and content, the domination of English as the academic language, etc in a more nuanced and sensitive manner.

At this juncture, it is upon the students and teachers’ movements to make sure that the future of education is not jeopardized by crass attempts at commercialization, even as the neoliberal discourse is attractively pitched along the lines of freedom and diversity.

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