Sir, through you, I would like to make another submission that there have been several vacancies in Kendriya Vidyalayas for the last many years, they should be filled immediately. Tamilnadu is a example where seats have been vacant for the last many years. Session as well as the exams are over now, what happened to those vacancies? There is need to think over all these aspects.
Before I conclude I would like to make one submission. It would be better to make arrangements in schools to provide vocational education in accordance to the requirements of the particular region, its circumstances, the aptitude of the people and the vocation that has better prospects in the region. School is not a workshop. We have a number of I.T.I's, polytechnics, Engineering colleges etc. in our country, attention should be paid to them and they should be developed. But Primary schools should be the centres of attention.
Lapses in the Operation Black Board Scheme should be removed and get investigated.
[English]
SHRI SUDHIR GIRI (Contai): I am grate-
Resource Development 662
ful to you for giving me an opportunity to speak only for a few minutes.
At the outset, I would like to say that I am grateful to the Hon.
Minister of Human Resource Development for providing adequate fund for the Vidyasagar University, which is a rural University in the District of Midnapore, West Bengal.
This is the death centenary year of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidynsagar. he was a giat in the 19th century renaissance in Bengal, not only in Bengal but India also.
The University has formed a committee to commemorate the name of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. They have proposed to set up a Chair after the name of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in Bengali literature at the University.
I appeal to the Hon. Minister to provide adequate funds for the creation of the Chair.
Another point is, the University Grants Commission has its headquarters at Delhi. But the concerned people have to come up to Delhi for transacting business. I suggest that regional offices of the UGC may be set up in the States.
Rural games should be given priority.
Another point is, the National School of Drama should be given adequate financial assistance to develop it further.
SHRI P.C. THOMAS (Muvattupuzha): I will just follow him, Sir.
MR. SPEAKER: Let us see.
SHRI P.C. THOMAS: My first point is that for pre-primary
education there should be a real change of policy. The students are just losing their childhood. They are simply taught in such a manner that they are losing their brains and they are losing their devel- opment.
663 Demands for Grants, APRIL 1992-93 Ministry of Human
[Sh. P.C. Thomas]
Secondly, in primary schools also, I would suggest that the teaching should not be too harsh. For example, in the Navodaya Schools, in Ernakulam district an incident has taken place. It is said that it is because of the harshness shown to the student. The boy has simply gone away. His whereabouts are not known. His name is Abhilash Joy; I am writing a separate letter also. He has been missing from early February onwards. No whereabouts are known.
Vocationalisation has been repeated. I will not touch that.
My next point is with regard to a very important matter. I suggest that politicisation of the field of Education should be stopped. For this, I think, a consensus has to be reached by all the parties. I know one incident in Kerala when the plus two system was introduced.
MR SPEAKER: Please come to the point. Leave these incidents.
You can write to the Hon. Minister about them.
SHRI P.C. THOMAS: The plus two system was in vogue in every other place. But when this was introduced just for politicisation the Opposition parties opposed it and then a fight was there. There was an agitation which ended in a huge loss of money as well as the future of a set of students. Immediately after that they came to power and they had to follow the same policy. They brought the same plus two system, Predegree Board as it is called there.
With regard to youth welfare and sports many rural playgrounds are being allotted to schools. For Kerala, since three years, it understand, because of some ban or because the previous government had not submitted some accounts, no new grants are being given to any of the schools. This is a very sad plight. For no fault of theirs, the are not getting any grants. I suggest that this may be reviewed and if at all there has been any fault in the accounting of money, or Resource Development 664
accounts were not submitted by one school, the new applints may not be affected by that.
My last point is with regard to culture. In Kerala we have youth festivals and the best person in each wing is given an award from childhood to his upper ages. I suggest that this may be followed at the national level also as it is being done in several States. Compe- titions and youth festivals may be held for all ages and the best person in each wing of arts and cultural activities may be found and given an award.
Thank you very much forgiving me this opportunity.
[Translation]
SHRI RAM PRASAD SINGH (Bikramganj): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would express my views in brief. Today, a discussion is being held on the Demands of Grants related to the Education Ministry. Education is the backbone of our democracy and society. If the backbone itself is weak then the society or a democracy cannot function properly. During the last 45 years the Government certainly have not paid adequate attention to education. If the Government had done otherwise, the per centage of the education people as per the figures gathered in 1991 would not have restricted just to 52.1 1, even after 45 years of independence. Education has constantly been neglected in our country.
Education is a light that awakens a man, It strengthens the character and morality of a man and makes him aware of his responsi- bilities. Because adequate attention has not been paid towards education in our country that is why the character and moral qualities of the people of our country leave.
When we look at our past, we see a number of scholars in the country who had established their supremacy in the whole world. All of you are aware of the name of Swami Vivekanand. But there is not even a single person like that amongst us. Today the situation is that when the scholars from
635 Demands for Grants,1992-93 Ministry of Human
our country go somewhere they are disrespected. The cause behind it is that we have diverted from our basic principles.
There was a time when there were teachers; like Dronacharya and students like Arjun in our country. But today the persons like them are not there. During those days our education was not vocationalised. There is dueal policy for education in our country today. On one hand, there are public schools, where only the children of the rich, who spend a lot of money an education and on the other hand, no arrangements have been made for providing education to the children of the poor, who can afford to get education only upto secondary school level.
Through you, I would like to draw the attention of the Hon.
Minister toward this issue. I am not saying that you should harm the rich, but this is a question of education and it should be seen with humanitarian point of view. In view of this some arrangement for providing education to the children of the poor should certainly be made in the country and they should at least be provided free education upto inter mediate level. In the present circumstances in the country, it is necessary that the Government should provide free education upto Intermediate level.
sir, I belong to Bihar, where the percentage of education is very low. Only 38.52 per cent people are educated in my State. Bihar has lowest percentage of education in the entire country. I would request the Hon. Minister to open a Central University in Bihar because it has always been neglected.
This dual policy for education should be ended. Late Shri Jagjivan Ram had once said that unless we end this dual policy we will not be able to provide education to the poor children and will continue to widen the disparity in the field of education. This will not bring equality among the humans. I would only like to request that such arrangements should be made, which will give equal status to all the educational institutions.
The allocation made in this Budget for
Resource Development 666
primary education is totally inadequate. As one of the Hon. Members said just now that only 4 to 5 per cent allocation has been made, this is very little in view of this important department. I would request you to reconsider it and increase the expenditure on education and more funds should be provided to Bihar.
[English]
THE MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI ARJUN SINGH): Mr. Speaker, Sir, at the outset, I must express my deep gratitude to you for having enabled this House to discuss the Demands for Grants of my Department. It is incidental that I am holding this charge, the tact is that by your action you have enabled this House to inform the nation of what it thinks about the issues that are concerned in the Department of Human Resource Development.
I am also grateful to you that in the beginning itself it was mentioned clearly that this discussion will be with the special em- phasis on Sports, Women and Child Development which again underlines your deep concern for these two areas of national activity which certainly deserve the highest priority from the Hon. Members and also in the country.
A lot of Hon. Members have expressed their sympathy with me and they have also expressed that they would like to see the resources - not the Human Resources but the Financial Resources of the Minis" -to the raised beyond the level that it is available today. No one perhaps except a very learned professor, who is also a very eminent Member of this House, Shrimati Malini Bhattacharya, could have put it so tellingly as she did in her comment which was meant for my esteemed colleague Kumari Mamata Barnerjee, who is not here today, but I think it was meant for me also and, therefore, I would like to quote herself. She got the impression from whatever Kumari Mamata Barnerjee had said that day that according to her quoting from an old American song - I do not know where
667 Demands for Grants,1992-93 Ministry of Human
[Sh. Arjun Singh]
an American song attracted you, but the wording as it was told to us that she said here are very eloquent. She said: " I would, if I could but I cannot.
SHRIMATI MALINI BHATTACHARAYA (Jadavpur): The reference is to the policy of the American Government, not to the American people, or their songs.
SHRI ARJUN SINGH: Well, whether it deals with the American song or the American people at least it was sufficient for 'to attract your attention. But since it attracted your attention and you have said this in the House, I think you wanted to say that I would, if I Could but I cannot because my esteemed colleague Shri Manmohan Singh has not dispensed. But, I would like to tell you I would riot end it by I cannot, I would end it with your permission and because of the support I am getting in this House, from all sides that I would try and I can assure you that this is not an empty promise. Since the time the allocations were being finalised I could see that the emerging pattern was such that for some reason or the other, there would be some decrease in the allocation for the activities of this Department.
Beginning with the Prime Minister, the Planning Commission, the Finance Minister, I have constantly been having a dialogue with them both orally and in writing and I am in a position to assure this House that as soon as any augmentation of resources take place - which it is hoped it would happen - this Department will get the first benefit of that augmentation.
SHIR NIRMAL KANIT CHATTERJEE (Dumdum): There would be more 'add motions than cut motions, I suppose.
SHRI ARJUN SINGH: So far as cut motions are concerned, I had a long experience in the Legislative Assembly. I also used to put cut motions when I was in the Opposition. I was very frustrated when the Ministers while replying, would pick four cut motions, give very lengthy replies on them and totally ignore all the other cut motions.
Naturally, all
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the Members cannot speak in this House. So, some people -- who got the opportunity to speak - have dealt with naturally, their own cut motions. They could not have dealt with the cut motions of the others. I evolved a certain strategy, not because I was not able to get information, but I believe that the whole democratic system is based on the principle of sharing of knowledge and information. If we are informed as Members of the House, our performance inside the House and our performance as the representatives of the people would automatically be better. So, I would like to follow the procedure which I initiated there. I would like to inform the House that to the Members who have given cut motions, who may not have got the opportunity to raise them here, within the next fortnight,I will be sending a written reply -to all those Hon. Members - on the points which they have mentioned in them out motions, to the extent possible so that they are informed about it.
I would, therefore, like you to bear with me. I would not be in a position here in the House to deal adequately and to their satis- faction on the points on which they have given vent to their views here and issues which are directly concerned with an incident or with a specific thing. Of course, the, broad issues of policy, the specific issues which are of great and wider concern, will be dealt by me. I will be dealing with the specific points. I have taken note of all of them. I will also write to you on that and if there is some information which you think is lacking, I would very much appreciate that you let me know and I will try to satisfy you to the fullest extent in this regard.
Sir, since you have taken Sports and Women and Child Development for special emphasis, I would like to say about Sports. You might recollect that even in the last session I had made such a request and somehow,in spite of your best efforts it could not happen.
MR. SPEAKER: This year also, it is because of you dealing with it that it was taken up.
669 Demands for Grants.1992-93 Ministry of Human
SHRI ARJUN SINGH: No, Sir, it is because of you.
I was certainly very eager about it because I am one of the citizens of the country who feels very frustrated and sad that when an event takes place - at the national or international level-when we are glued to the T.V. set and the end result is such that it, perhaps, unnerves us. But the fact also remains that we only go to the TV sets when there is an event. It is a fact that sports is an activity which cannot be periodical or adhoc. In a country of the size of India, it is an activity which has to be sustained right from the ground level.
upto the national level. For some reason or the other, that has not happened or it has happended in a haphazard manner which, I think, is the reason for our poor showing in the sphere of sports.
The activities that go into it also cover such a wide spectrum that to say that one Department, one Authority, one Government can deal with it effectively is, in my humble opinion, not the correct thing to say. State Governments are involved: various other agencies are involved and there has to be a holistic view of what is to be paramount and what, under certain priorities, is necessary. Once you come to that view, then the policy frame has to be evolved and that was the reason why I requested you to allow this House to give us the benefit of their advice.
Lot of Hon. Members have spoken very very candidly about it.
Some of the Members here are themselves great figures in the world of sports. I would only give you this assurance that what has been said here is riot going to be the end of the matter. Whatever views have been given by you will riot only be given attention by us but we will start a dialogue as soon as this session comes to an end -- or, perhaps, may be before that with the State Governments, with the other sports authorities with other federations and with all those who are involved in this. The background of the dialogue will be what you have said in the house. The objective of this exercise will be to see that how that can be projected in the sports policy and the projec- Resource Development 670
tion of this country in the world. And I hope that by the time we meet for our monsoon Session. I would be able to present to this House a document which would, I hope, reflect your concern and your opinion.
So far as the question of woman and child development is concerned, Sir, this is an area where every home and every family is directly involved. We cannot even attempt to express an opinion which is not in tune with the ethos of this country evolved over many many centuries about the central position in the family, in the society and in the country, of woman and child. I am also aware, as Shrimati Maliniji has said, that there are areas of gross abuse, areas where very distressing facts come to our knowledge where society does not treat women and children not only justly, not even humanly. Now, we cannot sit back and let that happen and therefore, over the years, in the last 45 years, effort is made to give protection, sustenance and also the empowerment to the women of this count so that they can not only play their own role in the nationbuilding activities, but as individuals can acquire the dignity and the rights that are due to them as citizens of this country. What has not been able to be done, that also we know, but the effort is very much there, and this effort is not a Government affair. As you are all aware as public representatives, the motivation for this effort comes from the people of this count and that motivation, I am sure, will bring about a situation where these kinds of complaints will not only be dealt with effectively and in a very deterrent manner, but eventually the will not be allowed to happen. That should be our goal and the should be our effort.