Time for Radical shift in HRD policy- fund education only for the Underprivileged?

With many development schemes being introduced for a brighter future; the future itself seems petrified. A shocking revelation by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) stated that 223 million children (150million girls/ 73 million boys) under 18 years of age in India experienced rape or other forms of sexual violence in 2013.

Law is of paramount importance in any country, as it assures safety and justice to the citizens but analysing the statistics revealed by NCRB, 85% of sexual offences against children continue to be pending in courts and only 15.3% of cases saw completion of trials in 2013.

The worst scenario is that the parents rather than standing for the rights of their children hesitate to bring their victimized children to court which becomes the prime reason for cases lingering on for years. The reasons behind the escapism is the fact that the parents get unsure of their child’s identity getting revealed (anonymity)  and frightened by the incident the child many a times ends up giving conflicting testimonies which becomes a concern for the parents.

With new government’s huge emphasis on equity, it’s time to revise the age old, outdated education policies and shift the emphasis from subsidizing all to just the underprivileged—who need the most and whose GER in schools and colleges is disturbingly below the national average.

Such is the recommendation by the Centre for Public Policy, in a recent report, that convincingly argues for removing the current Rs 45,000 crore direct funding by the government to universities and colleges and instead stresses on benefitting the needy sections directly by focusing these funds just on them through Education Vouchers & Scholarships.

The report’s top 4 suggestions to the new government are:

Dr. Harbeen Arora, President of the Centre for Public Policy, hopes that the new government will take some urgent measures to curb the disparity between the students of high level and the low level income group, and usher in policies that help educate and skill our great numbers of unemployed youth – 500 million – in the next 5 years. It is to achieve this ambitious target that the Center for Public Policy has brought out a radical new thought in their detailed report on why government funding for higher education should, instead of bearing the entire costs of running of the universities, be redirected only to the underprivileged sections of society, who need maximum support and hand – holding.

According to the suggestions proposed by the Centre for Public Policy, government should provide the underprivileged section of our society with educational coupons and scholarships. For the balance, government can provide Sovereign Guarantee for all to have access to a bank loan without collateral.

The National Youth Policy (NYP-2014) states that, the 12th Plan priorities for secondary and higher education are (a) increasing access, (b) ensuring equity, (c) improving the quality of inputs and outcomes, and (d) promoting greater governance and accountability. These steps might sound time consuming but can surely help in making a difference in lives of needy. Also, such kind of financial help/aid can surely minimize the economic disparities within the different classes of the society and take our nation towards growth and progress from the grass “roots”.
ABOUT Centre for Public Policy: The Centre for Public Policy has been set up with a view to educate bureaucratic community, opinion makers, civil society and NGOs to participate actively in the shaping and operationalising policy issues in the public domain through responsible policy analysis and management tools. The Centre for Public Policy collaborates pro-actively with other similar entities to meet its primary objectives.