The Hindu Business Line : Education and inclusiveness

Last weekend, the Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC), Mr Sam Pitroda, released the second annual ‘Report to the Nation’ that was presented to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The Report could not have come at a better time considering the importance that education has acquired among policymakers and the shortages in skilled workforce that the IT sector is currently facing. For an economy growing at eight per cent, the need for a skilled workforce increases immeasurably and enough concern has been voiced by industry and global analysts that if there is one field in which India has to do some rapid catching up, it is education. But the need for education enhancement opportunities is not simply rooted in the contingent needs of the economy. It is also a way to make growth more inclusive. Despite decades of planning and the existence of world-class institutions of higher learning, a large section of the people does not have access to basic education. The second report of the NKC addresses this as well as other critical issues, such as intellectual property rights.

The Government appears to have taken some steps in the right direction. Plan allocations for education have been stepped up five-fold since the Tenth Plan, so that the share of education in the total Plan will increase from 7 per cent to 20 per cent. In budgetary terms, such allocations are nearing the targeted 6 per cent of GDP. But this should be just the beginning of an outreach process, not the end, as has been the case so far, when most governments were content to simply allocate funds without ensuring timely delivery schedules. The NKC seems to have factored this into its agenda since its next stage is to introduce what it terms Knowledge Initiatives at State and district levels that need to become effective and efficient channels for Plan allocations. Accountability for tardy implementation would also need to be addressed at every stage and suitable remedial actions suggested.

A movement towards e-governance would make the allocation and usage of funds more transparent. While there has been some development on this score in fiscal matters, a large number of areas are still begging for change. Land titles in many States are still at a very primitive stage of cataloguing, a system that discourages a vibrant land market. It is not enough for New Delhi to simply accept the report of the NKC. The Eleventh Plan has begun; so should the UPA government’s commitment to education and knowledge targets that it has set in right earnest.

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