Javadekar sticks to Smriti’s line
New Delhi: Adhering to the line drawn by his pre-decessessor Smriti Irani, human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday discussed the new education policy with RSS- affiliated organisations. Mr Javadekar clarified at the event that he was open to suggestions by all sections of society.
Union human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday discussed the new education policy with RSS- affiliated organisations, adhering to the line of his predecessor, Smriti Irani.
Mr Javadekar, in an effort to avoid any controversy, clarified at the event that he was open to suggestions from all sections of society. “This is not a BJP, Congress or a Communist issue. The education policy is a national issue and I am open to discussion with everyone on the topic,” the HRD minister said at a discussion of the topic “National Education Policy: Expectation and Challenges” organised by an RSS affiliate, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal. “I was invited here so I came. If others invite me, I will also go there,” the new HRD minister said.
He sought suggestions on the proposed new national education policy from all sections of society till July 31 before the policy was finalised for implementation.
The HRD minister said innovation and research should be promoted in the education sector if the country wanted sustainable growth. He added that there was a need to provide students affordable education.
Interestingly, the Narendra Modi government’s proposed draft education policy has already accommodated all the major suggestions made by its Sangh affiliates. The T. S. R. S u b r a m a n i a n Committee, entrusted with preparing a draft for a new education policy, has accepted the suggestions of Sangh Parivar members on several key issues, like introduction of value education in schools, giving preference to teaching in the mother tongue, reversal of the no detention policy, promotion of Sanskrit as a living language instead of a classical one, and introduction of yoga across the educational spectrum.
Speaking on the occasion, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal national joint general secretary Mukul Kanitkar called for the promotion of Sanskrit in the education system. “The education system of the country should be run by educationists and the government should aim to free it from all bureaucratic control,” Mr Kanitkar said, adding that the education system should be learningbased and not teachingbased.