india

Updated: Aug 12, 2019 09:20 IST

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ spoke to Amandeep Shukla about a series of issues, including the National Education Policy (NEP), the controversy over Hindi, the role of English going forward, linking education with employment, and the Kashmir challenge after the removal of special status for the region. Edited excerpts:

What have you identified as your key priorities as HRD minister?

There are many schemes already being run. How to run them most effectively is my first priority. Sometimes, a scheme can be very good but whether the benefit is reaching the intended student, we have to go into these aspects.

Second, our focus is on NEP. There is much enthusiasm among the people for NEP and nearly 1.5 lakh suggestions have been received about it. This is a massive, one-of-its-kind exercise, in which consultations have been held with the widest section of people.

Another focus is creating world-class institutions, which has been the vision of our Prime Minister. We have now three institutions among top 200 in the world. We have to nurture more to become world class. To boost research is another of Modi government’s priorities. So we have decided to set up the National Research Foundation.

You just mentioned that there have been 100,000 suggestions on the New Education Policy. How are you examining them? What is the road ahead?

We are continuously studying the suggestions. We have put 20-25 teams on the job on the basis of which suggestion is related to which field. The suggestions are being examined. There are suggestions, sometime concerns too, but an overwhelming majority from all parties and all states have been appreciative of the [draft] policy.

One of the concerns that was expressed after the NEP draft was put in public domain was about language. There were apprehensions, especially in the south, that there was an attempt to force Hindi.

There were some concerns in Tamil Nadu. But we are clear that no language will be imposed on any state. The language policy that was there in 1968, it was there in 1986 when the Kothari commission was formed, and the same policy is being continued. We are not doing anything new on this count, so there is no question of opposition on this issue. Why will we impose any language? We have always worked to strengthen all Indian languages. But English is not an Indian language. In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution, English is not an Indian language. We will strengthen all the 22 Indian languages.

However, English being an international language has many advantages.

We are not at all opposing English. English should also be learnt and studied. In fact, we should learn all global languages. But which country will ignore its own languages and promote a foreign tongue? First of all, our Indian languages have to be strengthened.

You have also spoken in favour of developing Sanskrit-speaking villages?

We have specialised institutes for Sanskrit and other classical languages. There is an institute for Tamil. There are others for other languages. We want the language institutions to choose villages to promote the languages. We want them to make innovations, translate languages, and promote science in these languages.

You have held discussions with members of Parliament, including those of the southern states. What has been their response?

The response has been good. We had meetings with MPs from states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and all southern states. We held consultations with all states. There are some issues, there are suggestions, after all ours is a vast country. Overall the response has been very positive. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met me, he gave suggestions. But he was very appreciative that a major step is being taken. People from across the spectrum are appreciative and are keen that the policy is brought.

By when will NEP come in?

After the consultations, we will finalise the draft and then take it forward.

The Opposition has been saying that the number of jobs available today for youngsters is inadequate. This is an issue closely related to the education sector. What is the HRD ministry doing to improve the employability of students passing out of the country’s colleges and universities?

We are looking at the curriculum, and to link it with the demands of the industry. Secondly, the way our Prime Minister has taken revolutionary initiatives -- such as Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Start-ups etc -- will help us to develop our talent and link it with production within the country. Around 14 crore people have benefited from the Mudra yojana. This is not a small achievement. A special ministry was set up for skill development and it is being linked with Make in India. It is because of Modi government’s policies that so much investment is flowing into the country. There is focus on research and many new innovations are taking place.

You spoke about research but there have been concerns related to quality. There are also issues such as plagiarism.

It’s correct that there are issues. Many universities are engaged in research. We are working to create a system where there is no duplication, that every new research builds upon the knowledge created by the previous one. Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” [hail farmers, hail soldiers] slogan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee added “Jai Vigyan” [hail science] to it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the importance of research by adding “Jai Anusandhan” [hail innovation]. And for this, the government has announced the National Research Foundation in the Budget. This a major thing.

The Modi government has taken a big step on Jammu and Kashmir. Laws such as Right to Education were not applicable there. What steps will you take in this regard?

We are making preparations on this front. The children there did not get the benefit of the RTE Act. That is why there are people happy there. People realise that how the interests of the state were compromised because of political interest. We are working on it.

There are issues like of students’ safety on campuses, especially woman students. Are you looking at these aspects?

Many of the aspects will be taken care of in the New Education Policy. However, as far as the safety of students on campuses is concerned, I have decided that I will make surprise checks in colleges and universities and interact with students there to know of their issues and find ways to improve systems.

There is an effort to promote India as a global education destination. Give us some details.

The vision of the Prime Minister is that India should be a leader in the field of education. And for that we are working on this mission. There was a time when India was a “vishwaguru” [world educator] with universities such as Taxila and Nalanda, when there were no such institutions. There were knowledge-creators like Aryabhatta, Sushruta and Charaka, and the authority on Ayurveda. We have been leaders in knowledge creation. Even scientists from places like NASA have acknowledged the excellence of Sanskrit as a language. It is considered the perfect language for computers. We are again focusing on becoming leaders. And in areas like Yoga and Ayurveda already the world looks up to us.

Even when it comes to rankings, we have told those who conduct them that a lot of our teachers have studied in best universities abroad. When they look at the international aspect in a varsity, they should factor this in.

Access to education, especially in remote areas, is another area where a lot needs to be done. You come from an area of difficult hilly terrain. Have you devised a way to increase the spread of education?

In remote areas, there are plans like Kasturba Gandhi schools etc. We want to take these schemes forward. Our priority is to support rural children in their quest for education.

You have written several books. Now that you are incharge of this ministry, do you still get time to write?

Writing is in my veins, I did it even when I was the chief minister [of Uttarakhand]. I don’t feel at peace until I write. I am still working on a novel based on the 2013 tragedy in Kedarnath, and there is another work on Ganga. I’m also working on a series on Uttarakhand.