With serious concerns on several issues expressed by Rajya Sabha members over the draft education policy, the Centre on Friday asserted that it will not tweak the constitutional provision regarding reservation and minority institutions. On the demand from the members, the HRD Ministry extended the last dates for suggestions on National Education Policy till the middle of next month.
A day after the Opposition in Rajya Sabha slammed the NEP draft as an RSS document, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said only inputs or comments have been sought on a draft for which the deadline too has been extended till September 15.
While the debate on the draft education policy had remained inconclusive on Thursday, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the short-duration discussion was not over and it would be completed whenever time permits, including in the next session.
As members protested and demanded that the debate be concluded, Javadekar sought to allay fears through a brief statement. “We are not tinkering with Constitutional provision with regard to minority institutions or reservation. We believe in democracy... We believe education must be imparted with the objective of raising standard of lives,” HRD Minister said.
Opposition benches however wanted the debate to be completed and the Minister to give a detailed reply. However the House was adjourned sine die.
Kanimozhi (DMK) vehemently protested on the issue but Kurien said Zero Hour submissions would be taken up and whenever time permits the discussion would resume, including in the Winter Session. In his speech during the debate, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) on Thursday had said the draft policy was a lift from an RSS document presented in Amarkantak and in the name of Vedic education, the study of history is being converted into the study of Hindu mythology, the study of Indian philosophy into a study of Hindu theology.
Former HRD minister Kapil Sibal (Cong) had stated that no education system in the world has ever survived the infusion of ideology.