It is only through education that minorities can join the mainstream, believes Justice M S A Siddiqui, Chairman, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. In an interview to ENN, he says that the salvation of minority communities lies in acquiring strong knowledge economies powered by information technology, innovation and education

It has been a decade since the National Commission for National Minority Educational Institutions was established. Was the mandate of safeguarding the educational rights of the minorities a challenge? What are the achievements so far?

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act 2004 was established for safeguarding the educational rights of minorities enshrined in the Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. This Act has created a new dispensation for expeditious disposal of cases relating to grant of affiliation by the affiliating universities, grant of minority status, certificates to minority educational institutions, violations and deprivations of educational rights of minorities enshrined in Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. This Commission has been vested with judicial powers and the authority to adjudicate all matters enumerated under the Act without being bogged down by the technicalities of the code of civil procedure. This Commission has successfully achieved its objectives. We have issued approximately 10,000 minority status certificates to minority educational institutions. We have also made certain recommendations to the state governments concerned for safeguarding the educational rights of minorities guaranteed under the Constitution. Some of the state governments have assured us that orders passed by this Commission shall be implemented. This Commission has created a sense of confidence among the minorities about protection of their constitutional rights.

What are the benefits that an institution can avail after getting minority status under the NCMEI?

In a landmark judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in T M A Pai Foundation versus State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court has interpreted the expression ‘administer’. They have held that this expression, that they can also administer educational institutions of their choice, comprises the following rights:
the Right to Education Act does not ap- The first right is that a minority educational institute can constitute its own governing body or managing committee without any interference from the government. Secondly, a minority educational institution can raise a reasonable fee structure for its institution. The third right, which is a very important one, is that a minority educational institution can select and appoint teaching and non-teaching staff of its institution, subject to the condition that the qualification of eligibility therefore shall be prescribed by the government. That is the only area of interference and that too is in the interest of academic excellence, which is permissible according to the said judgment of the Supreme Court. The fourth is that they can admit 100 per cent students from their own community. But if the institution is receiving any financial aid from the state, then Article 29(2) obligates it to admit non-minority students also to a reasonable extent. The fifth right is that they can take disciplinary action against any member of their staff. So, these are the benefits which are guaranteed to a minority institution. In addition, the Supreme Court has recently held that the Right to Education Act does not apply to minority educational institutions governed under Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. A minority educational institution is also exempted from the policy of reservation in admission and employment. So, these are the benefits which a minority educational institution is entitled to, provided it has been declared so either by the legislature, the Parliament, the central or state govern- ments or by this Commission. Except them, there is no authority to declare a minority educational institution.

“This Commission has successfully achieved its objectives. We have issued approximately 10,000 minority status certificates to minority educational institutions”

So far as the state of UP is concerned, a division bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that the state government does not have the power to declare a minority institution as a minority educational institution because that jurisdiction rests with the Civil court. Now, this Commission is a quasi-judicial body and it enjoys all trappings of a court. Therefore, this Commission is competent to declare and determine the minority status of a minority institution. These benefits are available only if the institution has been declared as a minority educational institution. If a member of the minority community has established an institution, it cannot be presumed that it is a minority educational institution unless it has been declared so by the competent authority. Then what are the indicia of proof for getting a minority educational institution status? First is that it must be established by one of the members of the notified minority communities. Six communities have been notified as a minority community – Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Jains. Now, these institutions are established either by a society or by a trust. The Supreme Court has held that the Memorandum of Association of the Society or the Deed of Trust must reflect that the beneficiaries of the institution are members of that community which has established it. If that does not reflect, then the institution will be treated as a secular institution and not a minority institution.

Which, according to you, are the current challenge areas that need immediate attention?

The current challenges are accessibility, quality and equality. The Muslim community, according to the Sachar Committee, is virtually scratching the bottom of the educational barrel of the country. So, they need special attention because they can join the mainstream only through education. I have been telling the minorities that our salvation lies in acquiring the strong knowledge economies powered by information technology, innovation and education. Now, due to financial crunch, the Muslim community has no access to higher education. The need of the hour is enhancement of quality in education. In some southern states, the Muslim community has established good institutions. But, in other parts of the country, their educational institutions are found lacking in quality. Minorities should have access to quality education and equal opportunities must be available to them to get the benefits of quality education.
As far as the Centre and state governments are concerned, they are actually trying to help the minorities in general, and Muslims in particular, to improve their quality of education. Recently, in the Presidential Address, you may have noted that the government wants to modernise Madrasa education. It should be taken to be as the government intends to introduce modern education in Madrasas because a Madrasa cannot be modernised. Only modern education like computers, mathematics and science labs can be introduced. Both the Centre and state governments are very positive in their approach in this regard.

The open school concept works on the principle of education anytime, anywhere and for anybody and is fast emerging as the alternative mechanism for developing a literate India, says Dr S S Jena, Chairman of the National Institute of Open Schooling in conversation with ENN

Established in 1989, how far do you believe has NIOS fulfilled its mandate of universalisation of education and the evolution of a learning society in India ?

The idea of introducing Open Schooling in India was first considered in the early seventies of the twentieth century. In August 1974, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) appointed a Working Group to examine the feasibility of setting up an Open School. Taking note of the fact that the country was facing the persistent problem of school drop outs, it was felt that in the interest of individuals as well as of the nation, the drop outs may be provided an opportunity to come back to the mainstream and continue their education. The problems of education of girls and children belonging to rural and economically backward communities, and persons living in difficult contexts, may also be addressed. It was realised that unless the Open Learning System is provided for, where the children as well as adults can take advantage of opportunities for education at their own convenience and at their own pace, it will continue to pose a very difficult situation.
In November 1978, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and NCERT organised an International Seminar on Open School which was attended by experts on distance education. As a follow up of the international seminar, the CBSE set up the ‘Open School’ in July 1979 as a project. It was the first of its kind in India. In fact, this came up before the first Open University in India, i.e. Andhra Pradesh Open University (1982) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (1985).
The Open School Project was started in 1979. However, it was only in 1981-82 that registration of learners started; 1672 were enrolled. In 1983-84, the first Secondary level examination of the ‘Open School’ was conducted. The basic idea was to provide educational opportunities at school level to those have missed their first chance education through the formal education system due to various socio-economic constraints. The vision of NIOS has been recast as ‘to provide sustainable inclusive learning with universal and flexible access to quality school education and skill development.’ Its mission is to provide relevant, continuing and holistic education up to pre degree level through open and distance learning system; contribute to the universalisation of school education; and cater to the educational needs of the prioritised target groups for equity and social justice.
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) provides opportunities to interested learners by making available the following courses/programmes of study through open and distance learning (ODL) mode:

• Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme for children (up to 14 years),
• Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme as Equivalency Programme for n<td></td>eo-literates, school dropouts/ left-outs (adolescents and adults above 14 years of age)
• Secondary Education Programme equivalent to 10 th standard
• Senior Secondary Education Courses equivalent to 12 th standard
• Vocational Education Courses/Programmes leading to skill development
• Life Enrichment Programmes for awareness generation in the areas of health and livelihood.

What is the framework that NIOS follows to ensure the quality of academic support to its students?

Flexibility is the basic hallmark of NIOS. Chief features on which the learning strategies are evolved through the NIOS include flexibility in age of admission (no upper age limit & minimum age is 14+); flexibility in deciding course, place and space of study; freedom to select subjects, according to one’s needs, interest & abilities; integration of academic with vocational courses; continuous assessment through Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA); credit accumulation facility over a period of five years and the facility of transfer of credits from other Boards of school Education.

How are you reaching out to students in remote and rural areas?

NIOS is primarily an open distance learning institution. It operates using three-tier systems. At the first level is its HQ at Noida which is involved in preparing the policy as well as learning resources for the learners. At the second level, it has as on date 18 Regional Centres primarily responsible for programme execution and monitoring activities. At the last level, we have more than 5,000 study centres across India, mostly located in formal schools and organisations engaged in the academic and educational activities. This network of institutions supports the system for implementing both academic and vocational courses. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a significant role in facilitating the activities starting from admission, course transaction and assessment of learners.
It takes the help from regular schools in building its network and also draws support from the NGOs to reach out. Also, it has been drawing support of the state government for opening of study centres in educationally backward blocks.
A commendable feat accomplished by NIOS is the Basic Literacy Assessment of more than 4 crore neo-literates. Such an assessment and certification was undertaken for the first time in the history of adult education in the country and it was made possible only because of the commitment of NIOS & NLMA. I understand that more than 3 crore neo-literates have been assessed since 2010 and they can now go for basic education offered by NIOS as an Equivalency Programme. NIOS study materials for the Open Basic Education Programme were released by the President of India during the International Literacy Day celebrations this year. In partnership with NLMA under the Sakshar Bharat Programme, NIOS is soon going to launch their Open Basic Education Programme for Adults. I am sure this alternative mechanism for developing a literate India will also draw considerable attention years ahead.

A skilled India is the thrust of the new government. What contribution will NIOS have towards this goal?

Skill building is viewed as an instrument to improve the effectiveness and contribution of workforce to the overall productivity and production. It may also be seen as an instrument to empower the individual and improve his/her social acceptance or value.
India has set a huge target of training 500 million people by 2022 which requires programmes that are scalable, replicable and accessible. A large portion of the employment would occur in the lower segment of the skill pyramid. There is large demand and supply gap where the current supply is unable to meet the ever growing labour demands both in quality and numbers.
In this era of globalisation and economic change, the government must strive to offer learning opportunities to all, throughout life, by developing and improving structures and procedure to recognise all forms of learning, particularly the outcomes of non-formal and informal learning. Assessment, validation and certification of prior learning experiences, of late, have gained paramount importance worldwide, more particularly in the devel- oping nations. NIOS has been pioneering in this area.

“A commendable feat accomplished by NIOS is the Basic Literacy Assessment of more than 4 crore neo-literates”

NIOS uses technology for facilitating learning. Apart from providing print based learning inputs, it also uses digitalised version of the learnig resources. All video programmes of NIOS are available on You tube. A high definition video studio was setup at NIOS for enhanced production of in-house video tutorials and telecast of recorded as well as live programmes/PCPs and teleconferences. Mukta Vidya Vani, a web-based audio streaming 24×7 was launched in July, 2012 for its learners and other stakeholders.

The NIOS had partnered with CISCO. Other initiatives under the Public-Private Partnership mode that you may be looking at?

To strengthen its vocational education initiatives, NIOS signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with NIC, ITDC, IMA, CIDC etc. for developing collaborative vocational and skill development programmes. It has also signed a MOU with NSDC for developing industry led courses in the field of skill development, thereby ensuring the participation of industries in the process of course development and its execution.

A regulator needs to constantly evolve, says AICTE Chairman Dr S S Mantha. In an interview to K S Narayanan of Elets News Network, Dr Mantha asserts that the AICTE is here to stay – to protect vulnerable people from being exploited and to facilitate those doing good work

Where do you see Indian technical education ten years from now?

Conventional education system will remain. But the applications would certainly be changing and the entire technology paradigm would move towards application and new technology creation. I hope some of the Indian institutions would come in the top bracket of 100 institutions. The teaching and learning process in India is as good as anywhere in the world. What is lacking is research and industry interface. In the next ten years, with the kind of initiatives being taken now, these two things will change. Industry interactions will increase and with new industry in place, a lot of research would be centered around creating new products and process improvements. Another area that will gain currency is the entire demographics moving towards the younger population. This will drive the employment market which will essentially be based on skills. So, we need to invest in skills today.

The employability quotient of Indian graduates has been a matter of concern for the industry for quite some time now. What is your view on this and how does AICTE plan to address this challenge?

I believe that the employment of Indian graduates is fairly good. Having said that, we should know what ails the sys tem. There are several reports published either by Mackenzie, Ernst & Young and Assocham. However, they are all created with a certain sample size and for a certain job role. Let’s say I am looking for Java programmers or C# programmers and I advertise for that post. I may receive 100 applications and I find that 25 to 30 are good. I may not be in a position to employ the rest. This does not mean that 25 or 30 per cent is the standard employability rate across the sectors. I have a million graduates passing out every year and assuming that the employ ability is 25 per cent, 7.5 lakh students every year are out of the system and not finding jobs. This does not seems to be is a lot of underemployment. It is a serious problem because one does not get a job commensurate with one’s qualifications. We also need to find out whether the Indian industry is growing at a rate where I can guarantee a million jobs every year at that level. I should be able to map the available positions within the industry sector to graduates I produce.
In this, there is another problem area. The minute we match these two and if the industry is not doing well, should we not have more people graduating? But this is a poor way of looking at it. Instead, we need to raise the general enrollment ratio, improve supply-side dynamics, better students must get into the system and we need more colleges. At the same time, in order to absorb them, we need a different skill-based education paradigm. We need to massively increase employment opportunities.

“The teaching and learning process in India is as good as anywhere in the world. What is lacking is research and industry interface”

With the government’s renewed  focus on job-oriented training,  is AICTE in any plans to modify  content for courses that come under the purview of the AICTE?

We have created several opportunities. We are working with Confederation of Indian Industries. We have recently initiated several skill initiatives and have come out with a framework in this regard. We have mandated all our institutions to run one division with 100 students will skills. We are funding institutions to set up research labs and industry interfaces. We are conducting a survey with CII to find out the best educational institutions in the technical space. We are currently in the third survey. More and more institutes are partic ipating in it. We have also found expert groups within every industry sector. They have actually created the content. We have created 16 sectors constructions, para-medical, automobiles, IT, communications, retail, water sports, adventure sports, etc. In all the 16 sec tors, we have created content from level one to seven for 80 different specialisations and are available on AICTE website and can be downloaded for free.

Privatisation has come into the education industry in a big way. In this changed scenario, how does a monitoring authority such as the AICTE maintain its relevance?

We fundamentally believe that any regulation beyond a point is counter-productive. A regulator has to constantly evolve. At some point of time, it needs to be more enabling than being a pure regulator and become a facilitator. We need to identify well-meaning institutions with a proven track record which are provided with conducive conditions to grow. Similarly, we need different set of parameters to judge those institutions which are not doing so well. We also need a method of accreditation for institutions which is based on outcomes which in turn help rectify the system. A self-correction mechanism needs to be built in the system rather than some- body pushing for quality. This paradigm has to change. At the same time, a large population is exploited by some institutions. So we need a regulator which can protect these people and also enable others who are doing good work.

Seats in several engineering colleges in states such as Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have found few takers. Many of these colleges have been forced to shut shop. Where did the calculation go wrong?

If you look at the demographics, 65 percent of our population is below 35. What is the gross enrollment ratio (GER) today? It is just 20. India’s GER is 18 per cent. Now, in the age group of 18 to 23, look at the population eligible to go to college those actually going to college. In India, 20 people in that age group manage to go to college. This, in absolute terms, is resulting in 25 million students passing the 10th, 11th and 12th standards. Out of about 50 million students who appear for examinations, 25 million students fail too. The 25 million who pass go to college. Out of this, approximately one million opt for engineering while the rest of them go to humanities, commerce, law, distance learning etc. So my point is that if you increase the GER by another five points, you have an additional load on the system. Instead of 25 million, 35 million will pass. This means that I have to provide for admission in the existing colleges. Can we do it? So, supply-side dynamics need to improve in terms of secondary schools, setting up of more colleges and being absorbed by the job market.

With mushrooming of private colleges across the country, the students passing out have found it difficult to be absorbed by the industry. Is the dearth of quality faculty in such institutions a matter of concern ?

have to create better opportunities for teachers. This teaching business is aptitude-based. So we have to provide for training, research facilities and incentivise them. We also need to create an enabling mechanism to attract Indians who are teaching abroad.

ICT interventions are