After rubbishing its own committee, the government waited for one year to appoint another committee under the leadership of space scientist K Kasturiragan. Now, we hear that the committee has completed its job and would be submitting its report soon. Mind you, this is only a draft which’ll have to undergo a long drill to be finally adopted as the policy of the state. For such a deliberative exercise, the government does not have time on its side.

What the government has done meanwhile is to totally wreck the existing University and school system. It quietly undid the reforms that the earlier regime had introduced in the field of school education. The policy of no detention was trashed. The Right to Education Act was considerably weakened by this single unthinking act and a huge cut in the budgetary allocation on school education. The NCERT lost its sheen as it suffered significant Budget cuts. While the government kept claiming that it didn’t intend to change the National Curriculum Framework, it surreptitiously dictated the NCERT officials to edit the textbooks according to its ideological biases. The textbook were incrementally changed thus deforming them. The advisors and the experts of different textbook committees were not consulted. The whole exercise was done away from public eyes.

Take for example the case of dropping anti-Muslim from the description of the Gujarat 2002 violence. The original text called it anti-Muslim Violence. Now it is simply violence. Who asked for it and who permitted it? The advisors and experts objected but the NCERT went ahead with the change. As the Rajasthan textbooks travelled back in time to correct the historical wrong of the defeat of Rana Pratap, so did the NCERT officials who removed “ideological biases”from their textbooks as ordered by the minister. The insiders of the NCERT complain of total loss of agency. They feel wretched as if they are nothing but obedient babus of the MHRD.

The University Grants Commission has witnessed a similar fall in reputation. It was already discredited but now it is no more than a doormat for the MHRD. The ministry brazenly shoots off circulars directly to the Universities asking them to do frivolous things like ‘Run For Unity’ to mark the birthday of Sardar Patel or observe ‘Swatchta Diwas’ or organise ‘Yoga Day’.

What are the major achievements of this government in the field of higher education? Installation of the national flag at the height of 207 feet. Bravery walls in all Universities. Apart from this this government has nothing much to show.

If the government was serious in its intent to frame a comprehensive policy, why are the Prime Minister and the Minister making policy announcements? How is the decision of world class University or institution of national importance being taken without a policy in place? How are the deemed universes being allowed to open offshore campuses?

Similarly the UGC keeps making incoherent announcements regarding the service condition of teachers or the reservation policy for appointment of faculty members. It has caused lot of resentment and confusion. The UGC and the ministry have been making contradictory statements .

The most recent case is the liberal sounding announcement on behalf of the government to grant autonomy to different institutions of higher education. Its has created mayhem in the University of Delhi. Teachers are on a warpath and the go is clueless.

We have not discussed the role of different organisations of the RSS in the field of higher education which again is informal. The Vice Chancellors and heads of institutions have turned into minor Sangh Pracharaks. A culture of voluntary servility is destroying Universities.

It would be an interesting exercise to look for the word knowledge in the pronouncements of this government regarding higher education. You would hear words like bravery, patriotism, nationalism but not knowledge. But then knowledge has never been its objective.