EDUCATION - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

the situation is the same in almost all the States, the confusion is felt more in the southern States
than in the north since the bulk of the self-financing colleges are situated in the four southern
States and the demand from students is high. As a result, the admission process has not been
completed even during -the first week of August when, normally, the classes begin. In the T.M.A.
Pai case, a 11-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that unaided institutions would have the
maximum autonomy not only in the admission of students but also in determining their own fee
structure. A five-Judge Bench, giving clarifications, stated that the percentage of the quota for
students to be admitted by the managements and the Government in the minority or non-minority
unaided professional colleges shall be fixed on the basis of "their needs." (The Hindu 6.8.04)
8 th Aug
Textbook case of being incorrect (11)
THE RAJASTIIAN School Education Board needs to go to a correction facility for playing with the
future of around one lakh school students. Responsible for preparing syllabus books up to Class
XI, it engaged 15 writers last year for the Class XI history book. A Mathura-based publisher was
given the contract to print and publish the textbook. When the book landed with the teachers, they
were horrified to find no less than 500 mistakes of every conceivable kind, including factual,
grammatical and linguistic, in the 336-page Bharat Ka Ithas Va Sanskriti. The publisher was told
to provide new books with the corrections. But he demurred and the Board, surprisingly, agreed
to his request to provide a corrigendum instead of a new set of books. Needless to say, the corrigendum
booklet is almost the same in size as the textbook. The students, though, are yet to see
it as the booklets are gathering dust in the Board’s godowns. (Pioneer 8.8.04)
35-member panel to look into minority education (11)
New Delhi, Aug. 7: In keeping with the Common Minimum Programme and to put into effect the
suggestions made during the two-day long dialogue on minority education last month, the government
has constituted a 35-member National Monitoring Committee for minority education.
The committee has been set up with a view to raise the level of educational access and quality
among the minority communities including modernisation of madaris. On the view that some
madarsas were not comfortable with the idea of modernisation including computer education,
human resource development minister Arjun Singh said that the committee would not impose its
views on anyone. "The madaris themselves want that education in their institutions should also
be relevant in the current context. We did not find any resistance but there were words of caution
from madarsa authorities," Mr Singh said. On the role of the Monitoring Committee, Mr Singh said
that it will make recommendations on issues related to reservation, recognition and affiliation of
minority institutions. It will also monitor the ongoing schemes of HRD ministry and advise on the
contemporary approach towards "traditional methods of instruction." (Asian Age 8.8.04)
11 th Aug
BJP takes on Arjun, says CABE full of anti-nationals (11)
New Delhi: Strongly criticising HRD minister Arjun Singh at the first meeting of the freshlyconstituted
Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) for his detox programme, education ministers
of BJP-ruled states alleged that the UPA government was trying to get their seal of
approval on its CMP. They also attacked the CABE's selection process. CABE is the highest
advisory body on education that was reconstituted by Singh recently after a gap of 10 years.
The 106-member CABE comprises the HRD minister, Union cabinet ministers, state education
ministers and nominated members, eminent in the field of education, industry, culture and
social and voluntary sector. The BJP ministers described the nominated CABE members, scriptwriter
Javed Akhtar and members affiliated to SAH-MAT, as anti-national persons who had
nothing to do with education. Arjun Singh retorted sarcastically, with: "The RSS is nationalist, they
(CABE members) are anti-nationalist." Just before he walked out along with four other BJP
education ministers, Rajasthan's Ghanshayam Tiwari told Arjun Singh, "It is a political agenda of
the UPA government. We are with you if you want to discuss education. The agenda of this
conference is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The changes being effected in the history textbooks
are not only violative of the Supreme Court order but are also the President's views." (Times of
India 11.8.04)