Non-governmental body to submit report to the Centre after three years

In a move parallel to the new government’s reported decision to set up a commission on educational reforms, the controversial teacher-turned-activist Dinanath Batra has said that he has formed a “non-governmental” commission to “Indianise” education.

The commission, Mr. Batra says, has started working from a small office in West Delhi. The Non-Governmental Education Commission (NGEC) will have 31 members, including Mr. Batra. A senior worker of the RSS-backed Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti confirmed that those who had agreed to join the NGEC included Kapil Kapoor, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University; B.S. Rajput, former Vice-Chancellor of Kumaun University, and M.C. Pant, former Chairman of the National Institute of Open Schooling. Mr. Batra said the NGEC would work for three years after which it would submit its report to the government. “Our commission will introduce education models that are rooted in India’s culture,” he said.

Some of the courses recommended under these models have already been introduced in a few universities, he said. The Jalandhar-based Punjab Technical University, Mr. Batra said, had included Vedic Mathematics, Value Education and Integral Humanism.

Mr. Batra said he was not in favour of taking any funds from the government. “[U.S. President Barack] Obama coined ‘Yes we can!’ I am also telling you: Yes we can!”