Education News

Imperious diktat fallout

Jayalalithaa (left): doubtful bona fides

This out-of-the-blue order of the state government promulgated on the rationale that it will create a level playing field for rural school leaving students who don’t have access to the state’s ubiquitous (and expensive) coaching classes, has elicited a chorus of protest from students across the state. Over 400 writ petitions were filed in the Madras high court in the immediate aftermath of the order, mainly by urban students who have already written TNPCEE and/ or AIEEE. Suddenly their time, money and effort expended to prepare for and write the entrance exams were reduced to naught by the government order. Hence the flood of writ petitions.

Admitting the petitions on June 23 and hearing preliminary arguments, the two-judge bench (Chief Justice Markandey Kaju and Justice F.M. Ibrahim) seemed as outraged as the petitioners. They clearly indicated that they are likely to strike down the June 6 order. The learned judges opined that the state government cannot overrule statutory provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act and the All India Council for Technical Education Act which mandate common entrance tests in states with more than one school examination board. Since Tamil Nadu has schools affiliated with three boards — the state board, CBSE and CISCE — common entrance tests are mandatory in the state, they observed. "If the government relies only on the marks obtained in the Plus Two examination, Article 14 of the Constitution which provides equal opportunity to all is violated," they opined.

The Madras high court’s stand on the June 6 order has provided temporary relief to students who have already written TNPCEE and AIEEE this year. Meanwhile CISCE and CBSE students are also aggrieved because it equates their performance in class XII exams with that of class XII students of the state board which — as it is widely known — is less demanding and more generous in awarding marks.

"The announcement of the new admission policy after the completion of the TNPCEE and the improvement examination is unfair to students. Also the new ranking methodology is highly ambiguous and will create problems. If the common entrance exams are abolished, it is essential to add one more subject component to the Plus Two curriculum that will test students’ aptitude, analytical skills and reasoning ability. If this is done, abolition of entrance exams will be welcomed by all and will relieve students of a lot of stress," says Dr. K. Sarukesi, principal of the private sector Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai.

Moreover informed educationists in the state express reservations about chief minister Jayalalithaa’s basic premise that abolition of common entrance exams will create a parity between poor rural and relatively affluent urban students with easy access to Tamil Nadu’s ubiquitous coaching schools which prepare the latter for the high-pressure common entrance tests. While they concede that the entrance examination system and the coaching that begins from class IX is heavily biased in favour of students from urban and semi-urban areas, they doubt if the abolition of entrance exams will ensure a level playing field for rural students. In terms of quality of teachers, buildings, equipment and infrastructure, village schools are way behind their urban counterparts. Therefore their Plus Two level exam performance will continue to be poor unless rural schools are drastically upgraded.

But even if there is a case for abolition of common entrance exams, the timing and peremptoriness of the June 6 order abolishing common entrance examinations which have been working well for over 20 years, has raised doubts about the imperious chief minister’s bona fides. Why was it promulgated on the eve of the new academic year to become effective immediately instead of from the next academic year (2006-07)? "Because the state legislative assembly elections are due to be held next May. That’ll be too late to impact the rural vote which has to be influenced right now. That’s why," says a cynical academic.

In Tamil Nadu’s cauldron of politics, electoral calculations take precedence above all things, even the future of vulnerable children. But fortunately as chief minister Jayalalithaa who is being prosecuted right now in a disproportionate assets case should have learned — but hasn’t — there are constitutional checks and balances within the system. Therefore the Madras high court may well have the last word.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

Research booster plan

Reacting to news reports that there’s been a precipitous decline in the number of students enrolling for higher education in the sciences, and to widespread criticism of research bankruptcy in India’s 311 universities and 15,600 colleges, the Union ministry of human resource development has drawn up a blueprint for promoting quality scientific research in universities across the country. The plan proposes ten networking centres in five basic sciences — physical, chemical, life, material, and mathematical sciences — by investing Rs. 600 crore annually and creating 1,000 research jobs over the next five years. A five-year integrated Masters programme in science (M.Sc) for higher secondary students and Ph D programmes for graduates in select Central and state universities may also form part of this plan.

College science lab in Bangalore: alarming research fulcrum shift

"Universities are the natural habitat for research and if we can have strong basic research at the university and college levels, it would definitely help. In this context, the initiative is very welcome," adds Dr. S. K. Joshi, emeritus scientist and former director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and honorary professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.

The task force comprising Prof. M.M. Sharma (chairman), Prof. G. Mehta, Dr. Kota Harinarayana, vice-chancellor, University of Hyderabad, Dr. S.P. Thygarajan, vice-chancellor, Madras University, Prof. Rama Rao, ARCI Hyderabad and Prof. Ved Prakash, secretary of the UGC, has also been appointed as the fully empowered committee to implement, monitor and guide the initiatives. "The task force has projected an amount of Rs. 600 crore per annum for improving scientific research in universities. Of this, Rs.400 crore is for infrastructure development and Rs.150 crore for setting up ten networking centres in the basic sciences," says an HRD ministry spokesman. The proposed networking centres will be supported on a long term basis to achieve internationally competitive status, and will be sited in top rung universities to promote collaborative research, access to advanced facilities and impart training in frontier areas.

The task force among other things was asked to assess the present status of scientific research and training in universities and determine areas of concern. The group was also given a mandate to assess both physical and financial resources required for the implementation of required changes and solutions. "Management of universities is a serious issue and there’s a danger that the money may be deployed for other purposes. UGC operates on a shoestring budget and most of the so-called research projects in universities are extensions of DST (department of science and technology) projects and schemes. If the money announced is an addition to the UGC’s science research budget, it will make a big difference. If not, good schemes will continue to suffer because of insufficient funds," comments Joshi.

In its detailed report the task force suggests that an enabling environment for research activity on a continuous basis could be created by MoUs signed between state universities and the empowered committee. "The eligibility qualification for a lecturer in university science departments should be Ph D. However, in the departments of engineering and medicine, initially a lecturer may be appointed with M.Tech/ MD or MS qualifications respectively with the stipulation of a Ph D qualification within seven years of appointment," it adds.

Despairing that the number of Ph Ds conferred by Indian varsities is much lower than in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, the report recommends increasing Ph Ds five fold within the next ten years while maintaining academic standards.

The report of the high powered task force and its immediate acceptance by the HRD ministry which has promptly transformed the task force into the report implementation committee, augurs well for the revival of scientific research in India’s languishing institutions of higher education. But within the groves of Indian academia there’s scepticism about the perennial bugbear of India’s bureaucratic, down-at-heel universities: plan implementation.

Autar Nehru (Delhi)

Populism perils

After medical and engineering colleges, it’s now the turn of business management institutions in Mumbai to feel the heat of fees fixation related confusion. On May 31, the Shikshan Shukla Samiti, (SSS) — a body set up in 2003 by the Supreme Court to regulate tuition fees and admissions into the state’s private, self financed professional colleges following the historic judgements in the TMA Pai Foundation Case (2002) and Islamic Academy vs Union of India (2003) — had written to colleges affiliated to Bombay University offering business management education to levy prescribed tuition fees varying between Rs.30,000-70,000 per year for their two-year Master in Management Studies (MMS) postgraduate degree programmes.

Predictably, there’s been a chorus of protest. The Forum of Management Institutions (FMI) comprising 24 colleges affiliated to Bombay University has protested strongly against the new fee structure. Comments Dr. R. Chandra, director of the Pillai Institute of Management Studies and Research, who was also the first head of the department of the Somaiya Institute of Management and has more than a decade of business and industry experience: "The fees prescribed by SSS are unrealistic. First, they will be fixed by SSS and will vary from college to college which in the forum’s opinion sends conflicting messages to students. Secondly, SSS has not taken a futuristic view of the situation. When the Supreme Court set up these regulatory bodies in each state, it had specified that the fee collected by colleges should provide for a reasonable surplus for future development of each institute. However, the price band decreed by SSS simply ignores this Supreme Court directive. Fees varying from Rs.30,000-70,000 for colleges like ours are too meagre to finance quality education. To provide contemporary business management education we need advanced computers, high-standard projectors etc. We can’t take classes with chalk and dusters."

Chandra also points out that autonomous B-schools such as S.P. Jain Institute and Narsee Monjee offer the same study programmes and are charging as much as Rs.2 lakh per year by way of tuition fees. "How do we keep up with these institutes if our fees are fixed so low?" he asks.

The 24 colleges grouped under FMI including reputed institutions such as Dr. Welingkar’s Institute of Management, K.J. Somaiya and Bharti Vidyapeeth Institute of Management and Research have filed individual appeals to SSS for a revision of its order. Comments Dr. D.Y Patil, director of Bharti Vidyapeeth and secretary of FMI: "The procedure is that each college has to appeal to the SSS and specify the tuition fee it considers reasonable. We have filed our appeals, asking for higher tuition fees of about Rs. 1.25 lakh per year. We also want uniformity in the fee structure across colleges and are awaiting a hearing before SSS. If the matter is not settled to our satisfaction, we may have to move the Bombay high court."

With the admissions process for MMS courses having started end June, an estimated 2,000 students are unclear about the tuition fees payable by them. And with fees between the 24 Bombay University affiliated B-schools likely to vary by more than 100 percent in some cases, students’ financial planning for their higher education has run awry. Just as it has done for medical and engineering students. Such are the perils of populism in higher education.

Gaver Chatterjee (Mumbai)

Lila’s gift

A Pune-based non government organisation has earned itself a good reputation for awarding a growing number of meritorious but under-served girl children merit-cum-need-based scholarships.

Poornima Krishnamurthy, a commerce graduate who passed out last year from Pune University is currently a second year student specialising in heritage management at Jean Moulin University, France. Priyadarshini Malusare, a computer engineering graduate of Pune University is reading for a Master’s in computer science at the University of Southern California, USA. Both were awarded scholarships by the Pune-based Lila Poonawalla Foundation (LPF), an education trust registered in 1995.

These are only two of the 264 women students awarded scholarships by LPF which celebrated a decade of women’s empowerment on June 30. Others include Nitu Bhatia (1996) who made it to the globally renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; Deepali Ravi who obtained a postgraduate degree in dance at Pune University and teaches Bharatnatyam to international students; Vandana Belitkar, from the small village of Chakan who got admission into IIT-Madras and is employed at Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited (BHEL).

"I firmly believe in the philosophy that if a woman is educated, her entire family is educated. Therefore the foundation grants scholarships to financially deserving and academically outstanding girl students. The corpus of LPF is Rs.1 crore and I intend to augment it to award more scholarships with each passing year," says Poonawalla, once one of the most well-remunerated women business executives in India who put in a 33-year stint beginning 1968 as an apprentice with the Pune-based engineering major Alfa Laval and rising to the apex position of managing director within ten years. Currently Poonawalla is chairman of De Laval, an agri-farming firm and a group company of Tetra Laval and is also on the boards of the Bank of Maharashtra and a few IT companies.

The foundation has added 10 more scholarships of Rs.20,000 this year to celebrate the tenth year of its foundation. These will be awarded to college graduates who have enrolled for postgraduate studies in India and abroad.

"I have inducted Shalini Patel, one of the 1997 Lila fellows as trustee of the LPF to look after its administration. Eventually, once I plough more money into it, the LPF will run on its own even after I have gone and continue to empower needy and deserving girls," says Poonawalla, adding that she plans to bring out an inspirational book entitled 21st Century Belongs to Them, chronicling the stories of 23 successful Lila fellows. The publication of the series will be a continuous feature of LPF to inspire young college women.

Michael Gonsalves (Pune)

Brief truce

Privately promoted institutions of professional education grouped under the umbrella Comed-K (Consortium of medical, engineering and dental colleges, Karnataka) and the Congress-led coalition government of Karnataka have filed a joint memorandum in the Supreme Court seeking its stamp of approval of a seat-sharing agreement. As per a pact concluded on June 6, the state government and Comed-K will allot an equal (50:50) share of seats in Karnataka’s privately promoted 27 medical and 41 dental colleges with an aggregate enrollment of 7,000-plus students. In engineering colleges government will allot 65 percent of seats. If the apex court approves the settlement, both parties will withdraw pending cases in all courts.

The state government-Comed-K settlement which is likely to be approved by the apex court will impact over 42,000 students who will be required to pay differing tuition fees in private medical and engineering colleges in the state. Under the pact, the first 30 percent merit students who top the government’s common entrance test (CET) will pay an annual tuition fee of a mere Rs.35,000, 15,000 and 25,000 for medical, engineering and dental courses respectively. The next 20 percent of CET toppers will pay higher tuition fees of Rs.1.65-2.3 lakh (differing between colleges), 32,000-55,000 and 1-1.25 lakh respectively. The remaining 50 percent who clear the Comed-K entrance exam (including non-Karnataka candidates) will pay an annual tuition fee of Rs.3.75 lakh for medical, Rs.1 lakh for engineering and Rs.2.75 lakh for dental education.

If approved by the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government-Comed-K settlement will mark the conclusion of a 20-year war between the state government and privately promoted colleges of professional education. In its full-bench judgement in Unnikrishnan’s Case (1993), the apex court had detailed an elaborate cross-subsidy schema of tuition fees payable by merit, less meritorious and management quota students, with merit students (as per their ranking in CET) paying rock-bottom tuition fees and management quota seats being permitted to be auctioned (for prices varying between Rs.20-50 lakh).

CET counselling in Bangalore: complex settlement pact

Another round of litigation followed culminating in the June 6 agreement. But although Comed-K members have agreed under distress to the three-tier fees structure of the settlement, privately they say that many of the state’s 169 privately promoted professional colleges are headed for disaster. "We believe that this three-tier fee structure will prove ruinous for private colleges. As per a Medical Council of India research study, a minimum of Rs.3.03 lakh per year per student is needed to provide acceptable quality medical education. Now under the Islamic Academy Case judgement, the tuition fees of students in all categories are determined by a fee fixation committee. The right of management to auction their quota has been taken away and the management quota fees fixed is insufficient to cross subsidise the other two categories," says Dr. S. Kumar, principal of M.S. Ramaiah Medical College (MSRMC), Bangalore and executive secretary of Comed-K.

Despite wide acceptance across academia and government that the settlement fees are unreasonably low, student organisations are up in arms against the agreed three-tier tuition fees structure. "We demand a 75:25 seat sharing ratio in all private professional colleges in favour of merit students," says B. Rahashekara Murthy, the Bangalore-based state president of Students Federation of India (SFI).

On the other hand Comed-K’s Kumar believes that reasonable, equal, flat tuition fees across all categories are a better option.

But accustomed to pay way below cost tuition fees in higher education, the subsidies-addicted influential middle class is unlikely to accept the logic of uniform fees. And state politicians dare not antagonise this vocal constituency. But with costs of professional education rising constantly, the settlement agreement jointly filed in the Supreme Court, is unlikely to prove the last word as Comed-K representatives insist that the duration of the settlement agreement is only 12 months. Come next year the 20-year war between the state government and private college managements will resume.

Srinidhi Raghavendra (Bangalore)

Backdoor entry quota

Hard on the heels of the national furore over the reservation of 25 percent of seats for Muslim students at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh, another official directive to reserve 10 percent of capacity in Delhi’s government schools under a ‘principal’s quota’ has reignited fears of runaway reservations in institutions of learning. The proposal was reportedly initiated by local MLAs who routinely seek admission for favour-seekers in Delhi’s 960 government schools.

Typically, the principal’s quota order was issued without public debate or consultation. On June 6, the Delhi state government’s directorate of education issued a circular announcing a quota which "will henceforth allow all government school principals to admit 10 percent of each class’ capacity at their will and discretion". The order was signed by Neelam Verma, additional director of education (schools) and promptly dispatched to all regional directors, assistant directors, deputy directors and regional officers for compliance.

The introduction of the quota is being seen by many educationists as further evidence of licence-permit raj migrating into education. The fear is that reservation will not only militate against merit and put the genuinely needy at a disadvantage, it will also politicise Delhi’s government-run schools which are already plagued by poor infrastructure, staff shortages, lack of security for the girl child and poor quality mid-day meals. "The department should at least have consulted with us on the pros and cons of introducing the quota," fumes Shailesh Behari, who teaches physics at Government Boys’ High School (No. 2) in Shakur Basti, Delhi. "Our schools are notorious for their politics-ridden culture. What is this quota if not a thinly-veiled means to create another power centre in problem-plagued government schools?"

However, according to Vijay Kumar, director (academic) in the state government "too much is being read" into the principal’s quota issue. "We needed to give a human touch to the admissions process and therefore this quota was created. It will not jeopardise the existing online system as all rules will be followed." For instance, he points out, automatic admissions of siblings into the same school isn’t possible through the online system. Also, children of people in transferable jobs can be accommodated through this quota. "It’s a fresher and more contemporary way of looking at things," he explains.

Earlier, students from other cities or state-run MCD schools were admitted into Delhi’s government schools through a much appreciated and transparent online admission system which obviated the need for parents to run around to get their wards admitted. The system also helped to check the large number of dropouts in government and MCD schools.

With such a transparent system operational, creation of a new quota pool is unnecessary, say sceptics. "All this talk about the human touch is hogwash. The quota has been created at the behest of private schools and MLAs to push their surplus applicants and favour-seekers into government schools. These people have their own axes to grind by getting their candidates admitted into government schools," says B.K. Verma, a retired government school principal. Also, many add, it will further facilitate the backdoor entry of VIP candidates since the directorate has already crossed this year’s target of 2.25 lakh admissions. Already, around 2.28 lakh students have been admitted into Delhi’s government schools from April to June this year. Hence, the principal’s quota is likely to make crowded classrooms even more crowded.

Neeta Lal (Delhi)