A significant meeting of Education and Culture Ministers of the BJP-ruled States has been called by the party on September 6 and September 7 “to harmonise issues” between the Centre and States ahead of the release of the education policy by the Modi Government, next year.
The Ministers from Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand would put their heads together to streamline thoughts on the two important streams — Education and Culture — and work out a convergence .
“On a new education policy which would emerge next year, all would like to be on the same page and this exercise would help in that attempt...,” BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told The Pioneer.
The meeting would be held here in the Madhya Pradesh Bhavan and inolve a marathon run of exchanges for two days. Besides State Education and Culture Ministers, senior BJP leaders and HRD Minister Smriti Irani would be attending the meeting for the full day.
BJP president Amit Shah and party general secretaries would be attending the discussions, said Sahasrabuddhe, adding “it would be a gathering of about 30 people.” Each of the two days would be devoted to education and culture. Some of the States have both the portfolios being handled by a single Minister.
Sahasrabuddhe, a scholar himself, said the important exercise would aim at getting to know what was shaping up in the respective BJP-run States “and what more in terms of new innovative ideas could be incorporated in the education policy”.
The BJP leader said it would also be seen as how the BJP could leverage its “strength” at the Centre to fulfil its commitments in the election manifesto.
BJP’s 2014 manifesto stresses that education in India needs to be revitalised and reorganised “to make future generation proud of their culture, heritage and history” and also create confidence in the vitality of India. The party accords “highest priority” to address the acute shortage of teachers and researchers , quality of education and research as also the employability factor associated with most of the courses.