The Ministry of Human Resources and Development recently released the Draft National Education Policy, 2019 (“Draft Policy”). The document running over 400 pages was drafted by an eight member committee under the Chairmanship of former ISRO Chairman, Dr. K. Kasturirangan.
The Draft Policy notes that the education system has been slow in adapting to technological advances with the earlier education policies of 1986 and 1992 having been drafted much before the Internet revolution. It emphasises on creating equitable and vibrant knowledge society through high quality education for all. In this pursuit, the Draft Policy proposes developing and providing liberal arts education at undergraduate level.
Though the Draft Policy acknowledges that the existing knowledge economy calls for acquisition of new skills on a regular basis, it leaves much to be desired in terms of ensuring that the required skills are developed in its liberal arts curriculum.
In 2014, the four-year undergraduate programme in Delhi University was withdrawn amidst protest from the staff and students over the manner it was sought to be implemented without consultations. About the same time an increased number of universities were introducing four-year undergraduate programmes, reportedly one of them being the most expensive undergraduate programmes in the country. The four-year undergraduate programmes are oft- advocated for the ease of admission to post graduate programmes in the US that follows four year undergraduate programme as against the three- year curriculum in India.
The proposed liberal arts programme
The new Draft Policy proposes setting up of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by restructuring the existing ones and building new institutes, such that there is one HEI in (close to) every district. Residential Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs) / Indian Institutes of Liberal Arts (IILAs) modelled after Nalanda and the Ivy League schools in the US are also proposed to be set up.
The Draft Policy outlines a four year programme for Bachelor of Liberal Arts/Education in each of the HEIs by 2030. The four year programme will allow students to major in one to two areas. The student can also opt for one major and one minor. For instance, the student may choose Physics major with music as minor. With an emphasis on need for proficiency in more than one Indian language, the Draft Policy recommends that undergraduate students be proficient enough to discuss their major in a different Indian language. It envisions a culture of cross-disciplinary thinking supplemented with departments of languages, literature, music, philosophy, Indology and the study of India, art, dance, theatre, education, statistics, pure and applied sciences, sociology, economics, sports etc.
The programme would also have an option to exit with a B. Voc or B.Sc or B.A. at the end of three years. Similarly, the student will receive an advanced diploma in a discipline or field (including vocational and professional areas) if she chooses to exit after completing two years of study or a diploma if the exit is after one year. While the traditional B.A., B.Sc., programmes would be offered in existing institutes, the object is to gradually phase into liberal education curriculum.
The missing pieces
The MERUs and the IILAs are to be modelled after the pace-setting institutions like IITs and IIMs. With the state governments providing upto 50% of the funding requirements of these universities, one wonders how many aspiring for higher education will be able to afford four years long education. The Draft Policy does suggest that a National Scholarship Fund would be established for financial assistance of students at HEIs, however, it does not analyse whether the existing schemes have been effectively implemented for higher enrolment.
Promoting liberal arts at college level spontaneously raises a question over delayed specialisation. The Draft Policy indicates that liberal education must go hand in hand with specialisation in chosen field. It also notes that the liberal arts programme would combine conceptual knowledge with practical engagement through practical laboratory work, field work, workshops, internships, involvement in teaching etc. However, it does not make a query into the disconcerting rate of unemployment and whether mandatory liberal arts courses would be a solution to it.
Further, with the provision for exiting the programme in three years, it is unclear if the employability of a student changes if she decides to complete four years of the curriculum instead of three. For a student coming from a family struggling to even secure minimum wages, exiting sooner to enter the job market would be of greater concern than to take advantage of an additional year under the liberal arts education system. Additionally, the cost burden would force students to exit the course sooner, thereby negating the intent of setting up a four- year programme.
The Draft Policy suggests that the undergraduate liberal education programme will have “robust element of skills and professional competence”. How these elements would be included in the curriculum, are to be analysed. A liberal education programme may ensure entry into a job, but needn’t facilitate entry in the desired field of work. The All India Survey of Higher Education for 2017-18 reported the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GRE) to be 25.8%. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has set a target of achieving 30% GER by 2020. Whether the proposed holistic curriculum would facilitate achieving this target, be sufficient to attract economically backward students and push social mobility are some difficult concerns that the Policy needs to consider.
Pressure of early marriage, expectation of fulfilling household responsibilities, taking care of the family and concerns over safety continue to be gendered realities in India. A longer period to complete higher studies would affect enrolment of women, or will lead to early exit with a keepsake diploma or degree.
Liberal education programmes are identified with access to greater opportunities. In our idea of holistic development, we can neither be clones of the West nor be prisoners of the past. With high number of first time learners and a market desiring short-term outcomes, the Policy needs to push for improved standards of existing institutions with nuanced curriculum taking social complexity into account, to ensure training in appropriate skills for absorption in specialised employment landscape.
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Priyam Lizmary Cherian
Priyam is a Delhi based lawyer. She litigates and counsels on issues of law and policy with a focus on rights and development.[/column]