THE toughest challenge that India faces is in the field of education. The emphasis should be on striking the right balance between quality and quantity. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to set up centres of excellence. Thus came up the IITs and IIMs and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) took a great leap. Under Indira Gandhi, education minister Nurul Hasan went further forward sponsoring research institutes for social and fundamental sciences. Some of these institutions are still up to scratch but some have fallen away. The ISI even today is considered the best in the world.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in many ways drifted away from the Nehruvian vision. Without doubt he had the highest academic distinction among Indian Prime Ministers. But he pushed for a greater number. He wanted to set up an increasing number of IITs. He did not lay so much stress on considering whether quantity will ensure quality. Acceptance of the quota system for OBCs had already hit the quality of education. Modernization as envisaged by experts like Sam Pitroda did not become a reality. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants a break with the past. President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the joint session of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha outlined the Prime Minister’s vision on education. Modi wants every state to have IITs and IIMs. It is his assumption that quantity will bring quality in its train. But the exact opposite may be true. Modi should attach greater importance to improving the research output of existing IITs. Only the one in Kanpur matches up to global standards. The Prime Minister has shown great dynamism so far and it is expected that he will take a more insightful view of education in India.