Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani (File photo) Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani (File photo)

The debate on the working of the HRD Ministry in the Rajya Sabha elicited a lukewarm response from its members on Thursday, as only 37 out of 245 MPs were present at the fag end of the discussion at around 8 pm. A few MPs contrasted the poor attendance with the packed House during the Agusta Westland debate the previous day.

As the Opposition raised concerns over learning outcomes, insufficient expenditure on education and flaws in the Right to Education (RTE) Act, Samajwadi Party MPs Neeraj Shekhar and Ravi Prakash Verma questioned the absence of their colleagues at a time when such an important issue was being debated. “Today when education is being discussed, the entire House is empty. Yesterday when (political) football (over AgustaWestland) was being played, the entire House was full,” Shekhar said. CPI’s D Raja endorsed the sentiment.

During the debate, MPs highlighted a numbers of problems in the education sector, from shortage of school teachers to weak learning outcomes in primary education to political interference in higher education. Members from the Congress urged the government to keep ideology out of education.

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The debate, however, remained inconclusive as Irani could not respond to the issues raised. The members insisted it should be done when the House has full attendance. Although the government was keen on a reply, members from the Congress, SP, CPI-M, among others, insisted that the reply be deferred as it was late. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien finally decided that Irani should reply on Friday.

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