Don’t add to the higher education crisis

The quality of BHU’S political science question paper reflects poor scholarship

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been around a lot longer than we thought, or at least that is what the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) political science department would have us believe. In a first semester MA exam, a question has been asked on what Kautilya, the adviser of emperor Chandragupta Maurya, thought of the tax. Another just says: ‘Manu is the first Indian thinker of globalisation. Discuss.’ The students were left befuddled. Which begs the original question: was this an error or they were indeed meant to answer questions on issues which seem to have been framed by someone with no knowledge of the subject. It is no one’s case that ancient thought be ignored (it shouldn’t; in fact, it should be celebrated), but to juxtapose current developments with it with no academic basis or rigour of thought is to do a disfavour to students who cannot possibly be expected to answer such questions.

The concept of globalisation is a relatively new one, so it is clear that the person who set these questions does not have even a rudimentary knowledge of political science. This is part of a unfortunate trend of trying to view all subjects through the prism of ancient Indian science and culture. However, in some areas, this had meant a material change for the better. In others, it just serves to introduce falsehood and irrelevant information. That does nothing to improve learning standards or the spirit of inquiry.

It is not just in BHU that we see this trend. By trying to answer questions, the students will not be equipped to pursue further studies. Add to this the sort of poor scholarship that these questions represent, and it is clear that a drastic rethink is called for. Our higher education system is already in a crisis with inconsistent policies and political interference. Let’s not make it worse.