Realign teaching methods to the needs of tomorrow

Mahatma Gandhi once observed that “True education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth”. There can be no magic fix for India’s education problems. Access and quality, equity and seeking private capital, adapting pedagogy to changing demand have inherent contradictions. Optimising the opportunity cost of investment between primary, secondary, higher secondary and technical education remains challenging. Some years ago, I remember speaking in a panel with Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow at the Stanford India Annual Conference who arrived at a somewhat uncommon conclusion. In a short regression analysis, he believed that maximum returns would accrue from enhanced outlays in the higher secondary Sector. This is a complex issue but there are of course serious challenges which go beyond inter-sectoral balancing. As a consequence of the Right to Education (RTE) Act enacted in 2010, enrollment ratio has been steadily rising. Regrettably, outcomes and more so academic excellence have remained stagnant. Adequacy of educational spending remains an endemic concern. There was a sharp increase of around Rs. 6,000 crores in the recent budget.

It is another matter that operational inefficiencies, flawed administrative architecture elude outcomes not commensurate with even current levels of spending. Identifying and addressing the allocative inefficiencies from available resources is a smarter way forward. Improved quality in education is contingent on multiple variables. These include teacher attendance, quality of teachers, the pedagogy process, classroom assessment systems and school management to mention a few. The 11th edition of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) has just been published. This year’s report highlights that enrolment ratio in primary education is approaching 100%. There is also a marginal improvement in reading and arithmetic ability among students, especially in primary grades, even though only 47.8 % of Std. V students 73 % of Std. VIII students are able to read Std. II level texts. A meagre 26 % of Std. V students and 46 % of Std. VIII students could do simple division. The report does, however, mention an improved performance in public schools while outcomes from private institutions remain stagnant.

Equally, issues of equity are worrisome. Equity along with access and quality form the troika of challenges facing our education system. ASER 2016 suggests wide inter-state differences in learning outcome among schoolgoing children. States like UP, MP, Bihar, Jharkhand have lagged behind on all assessment metrics of the survey. Similarly, the variations among the social groups too are considerable. According to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2014-15, Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education for male population is 25.3% and for females, it is 23.2%. For Scheduled Castes, it is 19.1% and for Scheduled Tribes, it is 13.7% as compared to the national GER of 24.3%.

The recent initiative of the HRD Ministry to recognise the importance of autonomy especially in the higher education sector is a positive step. The HRD Minister must be complimented in recognising that autonomy in school management when benchmarked with performance criteria is a path forward. Stepping back from the heavy hand of government in managing institutions of higher learning has eluded successive governments. I was a member of the Parliamentary Standing committee on HRD along with the present HRD minister for several years. A number of legislations for reforming the higher education sector like The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, equally suffered from the lacunae of enhancing state control. Reducing the state governments’ autonomy and seeking to micromanage learning institutions is problematic. In this context, the new initiative deserves encouragement.

Going beyond the present, there are five key issues. First and foremost, the recent initiative of according autonomy to IIMs must become inclusive and embracing. The parliamentary legislative approval is a time-consuming process. So, when there is time and willingness the Bill must provide non-discriminatory treatment to institutions beyond IIMs like ISB, MDI, and other private institutions with impeccable track record. Hopefully, the government will move an amendment or the standing committee would insert an enabling provision for similar treatment to be received by private institutions that adhere to stringent performance criteria. Besides, a separate legislation for each institution by the Parliament is neither practical nor desirable. An enabling provision which enlarges the ambit of the Bill to cover a wider array of institutions which fulfil the stringent criteria would be efficacious.

Second, what about the archaic regulatory structure and the labyrinth of current rules and procedure which govern institutions of higher learning? True, neither the Sam Pitroda, nor the Yashpal committee nor the Bill piloted in the Parliament may be perfect responses. However, an appropriate regulatory architecture which segregates licencing, accreditation and performance monitoring must be spelled out.

Third, viewing private investments with persistent suspicion is a zero-sum game. To believe that all private sector investments in education are for profiteering or for commercialisation of education would be misleading. Given paucity of funding and employment challenges, harnessing private capital and innovative practices is inescapable. A private entrepreneur would undoubtedly be driven by the opportunity cost of investment. Giving them latitude and flexibility in management to attract and retain high quality faculty and focusing on outcomes needs attitudinal changes which encourages private investment and public private partnership. For instance, a focus on outdated land norms must be replaced by norms on infrastructure, high faculty and fostering creativity.

Fourth, bridging the gap between education and employment is essential. Several employability surveys have highlighted the growing disconnect between our education and industry requirements. Impetus to vocationalisation, with robust certification and enabling apprenticeship system would build wider industry-academia collaboration.

Finally, realign pedagogy to serve the needs of tomorrow. This means educational materials, teaching and curriculum caught in a time warp need to be restructured for the jobs of tomorrow. Most importantly, constant learning and ability to leverage technology is needed. For the future, Einstein was right when he said “education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school”.

NK Singh is a member of the BJP and a former Rajya Sabha MP

Source: Hindustan Times, 22-02-2017

Vast Sky of Realisation

VIVEK DESAI





A gull happily flying with a morsel in its mouth, suddenly noticed that it was being chased by 10 other gulls. They started harassing and pecking it. Frightened, the gull dodged, flew faster, and tried every move to defend itself from this brutal onslaught. After some time, the bird felt exhausted, both physically and mentally . Suddenly , it dawned on the gull that the entire flock of birds was after that morsel.So, it just let it go. At once, the entire flock changed its direction and went for the morsel, leaving the gull alone. The gull smiled and said, “I let go of that small piece of food and look what I attained -the vast sky!“ This story , adapted from Srimad-Bhagavatam, helps us understand a person's bondage with misery and, alternatively , with liberation and peace, especially as expounded in the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism.
Most of one's life is spent in jealously guarding what one has and striving to acquire what one doesn't. This clinging to what the individual thinks of as `mine' is termed in Shiva Sutras as `mayiya mala'. Mala means `impurity', so `mayiya mala' refers to the notion `mine' that veils the experience of one's true nature as peace, as boundless as Shiva, the Divine.
But why does one cling to possessions and people? Shiva Sutras explains that the cause is `anava mala'. ` Anu' means an `atom', so considering oneself to be small, limited is termed `anava mala' at the feeling-level. The visceral notion `I am incomplete' leads to the imaginary boundaries of `mine' and `not mine'. This, indeed, is the source of all strife in our lives.

We are losing fifth of world food to overeating, wastage

London PTI





Almost 20% of the food made available to consumers worldwide is lost through over-eating or wastage, according to a new study . The world population consumes around 10% more food than it needs, while almost 9% is thrown away or left to spoil, researchers said.Efforts to reduce the billions of tonnes lost could improve global food security -ensuring everyone has access to a safe, affordable, nutritious diet -and help prevent damage to the environment, they said. Scientists at University of Edinburgh in the UK examined 10 key stages in the global food system -including food consumption and the growing and harvesting of crops -to quantify the extent of losses.
Using data for 2011 (the most recent date for which the researchers said all required data was available) collected primarily by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, the team found that more food is lost from the system than was previously thought. Almost half of harvested crops -or 2.1 billion tonnes -are lost through over-consumption, consumer waste and inefficiencies in production processes, researchers said.
Livestock production is the least efficient process, with losses of 78% or 840 million tonnes, the team found.Some 1.08 billion tonnes of harvested crops are used to produce 240 million tonnes of edible animal products including meat, milk and eggs. This stage alone accounts for 40% of all losses of harvested crops, researchers said. Increased demand for some foods, particularly meat and dairy products, would decrease the efficiency of the food system and could make it difficult to feed the world's expanding population in sustainable ways, they said. Meeting this demand could cause environmental harm by increasing greenhouse gas emissions, depleting water supplies and causing loss of biodiversity.
Encouraging people to eat fewer animal products, reduce waste and not exceed nutritional needs could help reverse these trends, the team said.“Until now, it was not known how over-eating impacts the system. Not only is it harmful to health, we found that overeating is bad for the environment and impairs food security,“ Peter Alexander from Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences said.

Source: Times of India, 22-02-2017

Won't just go by foreign data, will do study on air pollution: Centre

Vishwa Mohan

New Delhi:





In the wake of international studies that point to rising deaths due to air pollution in India, the Centre announced on Tuesday that it will come out with its own study of the effects of such pollution on human health.Though environment minister Anil Dave maintained that such reports -for example, a recent one that attributed nearly 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 to air pollution -are based on extrapolation without scientific validation, he said, “The environment ministry is working with the health ministry to assess trends and impact (of air pollution) in this regard.“ He emphasising that the government must trust the data coming from Indian scientists.
“We are also not saying that we do not take note of those (foreign) studies. Neither are we saying those (global) studies are correct or incorrect... A proud country always trusts its own data and takes action on that. We believe in our institutions,“ Dave said.
Though India has not denied air pollution-linked health hazards, it has preferred not to refer to number of deaths in absence of scientific study .The only available report on the issue relates to an epidemiological study on ambient air quality and its impact on children in Delhi by the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata in 2010.
The report highlighted impact of air pollution on human health but didn't speak about specific number of deaths in India. The environment ministry had in August 2015 told Parliament that more than 35,000 had died due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) across India in over nine years from January 2006 to mid-2015.
Without attributing these deaths directly to air pollution, it had said air pollution causes respiratory ailments and may affect lung function.It also noted how it acts as an “aggravating“ factor for many respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases. Though global studies halinked far more deaths to ve linked far more deaths to air pollution in India, referring to the 2010 report was a rare official admission that pollution could be causing deaths. The figures, shared in Rajya Sabha in August 2015, show that Bengal reported maximum number of ARI deaths, followed by Andhra (united), UP , MP , Karnataka and Delhi. Asked about action being taken by the Centre to deal with the menace, Dave referred to the 42-point action plan issued to states for implementation and said state governments and local bodies also played a crucial role.
Dave said tackling air pollution was no “rocket science“ and the states and local bodies have to play a “decisive“ role as the Centre can only work like a “philosopher and guide“ in a federal structure.
Referring to air pollution in Delhi, Dave noted that 20% of the air pollution is due to dust on roads and is a major reason for PM 2.5 levels. He said vehicular emissions contributed to 20% of air pollution while another 20% is due to industries, generator sets and stubble burning.
Dave, however, pointed out that the problem was not restricted to Delhi alone. “Since Delhi's air condition becomes worse, we see it more. But the same experience is there in Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai -their health is affected in a similar way ,“ said Dave.

Source: Times of India, 22-02-2017

Why Isro has a legacy of success

It has managed to deliver on a level few other comparable government agencies have

The 39th flight of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle last week was justifiably lauded. The playing up of the record-breaking nature of the flight—104 satellites is by some distance the most a single launch has ever managed— echoes the bouts of self-congratulation that follow every major Isro success, and there have been a fair few of those. Well and good; bragging rights and the resultant positive public perception are valuable assets for any space programme. But there is another issue worth examining: why Isro has managed to deliver on a level that few other comparable government agencies have.

Perhaps the most apt point of comparison is the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). They share a number of similarities. Both work in areas where technological and research capital is paramount. Both deal with targets that require advanced application of that capital. Both, importantly, work on projects that can take decades to come to fruition, with all the uncertainty that it engenders—and indeed, given the nature of the beast, may turn out to ultimately be unsuccessful. The DRDO’s reputation has perhaps obscured some of its achievements, but the gulf in outcomes between it and Isro—similarities notwithstanding—is nevertheless clear. There are a few reasons for this.

The first is organizational structure. In 1962, the department of atomic energy—which had been entrusted with space research— set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research (Incospar) with scientist Vikram Sarabhai as chairman. In 1969, the committee was replaced by the newly founded Isro, again under Sarabhai, which took on the responsibility of developing space technology and overseeing its application. The final step in the evolution of India’s space programme was the constitution of the department of space (DOS) and the Space Commission. Isro was brought under DOS in 1972, with the commission formulating policy and seeing to its implementation. The entire structure functioned directly under the prime minister.

The absence of the otherwise mandatory layers of bureaucracy present in any government body is the obvious takeaway. The fact that specialists in the field and technocrats—starting with Sarabhai himself—rather than mandarins have populated the upper echelons of the hierarchy compounds this. For instance, Isro’s current chairman, A.S. Kiran Kumar, is also chairman of the Space Commission and secretary of DOS. This set-up has promoted vertical integration between policymakers—who are in a position to understand the nature of the long-term projects Isro undertakes—and those delivering the end results.

Contrast this with the DRDO, which functions under the ministry of defence and is entrenched in the bureaucratic culture. The fetishization of civilian supremacy over the military has resulted in the heads of the Armed Forces not having a place at the table when it comes to policy decisions—and the political and bureaucratic setups have failed to articulate a long-term vision to understand the needs of the Armed Forces. This means that the DRDO functions at a remove from the end users of its technology, and with inadequate leadership at the ministry level.

The second reason is international cooperation. Although there have been some impediments—Isro, along with a number of other government agencies, was removed from the US’ entity list only in 2011, and a decade-old US policy that hampers the use of Indian launch vehicles by American companies is still in effect—Isro has been able to work with the international scientific community since inception. This has been a throughline from the first component of the space programme, the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, established by Incospar, to the agreement between Isro and the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration to work on future joint missions to Mars.

The DRDO, on the other hand, has faced far greater barriers here. This has partly to do with geopolitics and international restrictions on sharing defence-related technology. Partly, it is the Indian political leadership’s stress on entirely indigenous development in past years. This has been counterproductive. As the then director general of DRDO, V.K. Saraswat, said in 2011, “if anyone wants complete homegrown products in critical areas, it is because of the lack of (understanding) of the dynamics of the market and a lack of understanding of what is global competitiveness.”

A third difference is accountability in the form of outcome budgets. This is too recent to judge its impact on both agencies; outcome budgets were mandated in 2005-06. And given the nature and risks of technological projects with long gestation periods, strict financial accountability is not feasible. But some level of periodic oversight is necessary—and while DOS submits an outcome budget that contains a detailed breakdown of Isro projects, the ministry of defence, and thus DRDO, are exempt. More likely than not, this will eventually result in further divergence in the outcomes of both agencies.

Given the nature of Isro’s work and its unique organizational structure, it’s not possible to employ all the lessons learnt elsewhere. And there are unquantifiables such as institutional culture in the mix as well. But there is no harm and potentially much good in examining its success and the methods that can be successfully translated, such as streamlining decision-making mechanisms and lateral entry at the policymaking level for area experts. The political and bureaucratic will to actually employ those methods elsewhere is, of course, another matter entirely.

Source: Mintepaper, 21-02-2017

Being positive helps change attitudes

Information campaigns can reduce public opposition to immigration and motivate citizens to take action

Fears around immigration are not new and have been exacerbated by populist waves and the migrant crisis. India too is feeling the heat. In this context, a discussion paper titled ‘Countering Public Opposition to Immigration: The Impact of Information Campaigns’ from Europe’s Centre for Economic Policy Research is illuminating.

Giovanni Facchini, Yotam Margalit and Hiroyuki Nakata conducted a social experiment in Japan on the effect of exposure to positive information about immigration on attitudes towards immigrants. Japan was chosen for its rapidly ageing population, low birth rate, severe labour shortages in some sectors, and low levels of immigration due to public opposition. Subjects in the study were told that they were assessing texts as potential school curricular options (knowing the objective of the exercise could distort their responses).

All 9,000 participants were given a text on a Japanese painter, a subject unrelated to migration. The control group, comprising some of the 9,000 people, was given a second text, with information on Pluto, a topic again unrelated to migration. The remaining individuals, or the treatment group, were provided with one of several texts that contained a discussion of a demographic problem in Japan and how immigration could help alleviate it.

After exposure to the questions, respondents were asked three questions: whether they’d accept more immigrants, about temporary migration (a visa question), and on whether they would sign a petition for increasing the number of immigrants. In order to test the longevity of the informational effects, some respondents were asked these questions immediately and others after a gap of 10-12 days.

Respondents who were from groups exposed to positive information showed a 43-72% greater likelihood of supporting immigration and an 18-24% higher likelihood of supporting some form of temporary migration compared to their control group peers. Individuals were also more willing to sign a petition after being exposed to positive immigration information than in the absence of it.

The researchers also found that the positive impacts last over the delayed 10-12 day study period, but are diminished compared to the immediate studies.

Source: The Hindu, 21-02-2017

UPSC civil services exam: How to get high scores in personality test/interview

Murphy’s Law - “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”

UPSC Interview, being the most unpredictable level, is the final hurdle on your journey to IAS. Candidates often make the mistake of overburdening themselves with the mains exam result and do not start preparing for the interview until it is announced.

It’s advised to start preparing for your interview as soon as you the mains exam phase is over. First things first—the interview carries 275 marks out of the total 2,025 marks, and if we believe the statistics of 2009’s mains results, not too many candidates managed to score above 100. Contrary to the myth that it’s easy to score in the interview without much preparation, there are an astounding number of double-digit scores in the Interview.

Unlike prelims and mains, the interview not only checks your knowledge, but as the name suggests, it is your personality test in which it is tested whether the candidate has the traits suitable for the top jobs of UPSC, according to Suharsha Bhagat, IAS officer.

Keeping in mind that the preparation revolves around uplifting the confidence level, fixing the body language, besides improving knowledge about current events, the candidates should begin the preparation with the DAF form, followed by working upon the personality and current affairs knowledge. The candidates must have good knowledge about the activities they have stated as their hobbies in the DAF form and should have a proper reasoning behind every word they have mentioned in it.

To discuss hobbies, you should focus on logic around everything you do and everything you have done till date. Your life should not look like a seashore that has no control over the sea. Following are some things you should consider:

*Your past career choices and your current job

*Your educational degrees

*Languages that you can speak

*The places you have lived in and their intricate societal issues

*Recent Headlines that are topping the charts

This is by far generalized preparation tips, covering ‘where’ and ‘what’ might pop up in your interview session. It is highly recommend to go for a mock interview, to get a first-hand experience of what it is like to go for an UPSC interview. From the last 10-minute pressure to a churning night before the interview, everything plays a significant role.

Now, here is the ‘how’ part. Few tips on how to go for an interview.

1. Get used to ‘I am sorry, I have no idea about this topic.’

As a fact, nobody knows everything. You might as well accept it. Most of the candidates create a blunder when asked about topics they do not know. They start by attempting it and working their way around. But, acknowledging that interview panel members are way smarter than you is the key. I personally know a corporate manager who was grilled for corporate policies when she knew nothing about the topic. While she fumbled guesses and attempted with her knowledge of other topics, panel members could see a lady who couldn’t accept what she didn’t know. A firm ‘I have no idea about this topic’ is a far better answer.

2. Only put in stuff that you know well

You might have read few books by Chetan Bhagat but that surely doesn’t make you a reader, neither does it give you a hint about the vast literature. The idea is in your interview and in your DAF. Put the stuff in front of you that you’re well aware of. It will help you look more conscious about your life and surroundings and also devoid of the vagueness from your entire test.

3. Do not have extreme views

Controversial issues, negative philosophies, movements with no agenda—all of these are inevitable. Living in a developing country with such a huge population will get you a lot of contentious issues to talk, believe and follow, but coming up-front with extreme views is not advisable. Well, there are rhetorical ways to do that, but until you are well versed in rhetorical techniques, going for such a step is not recommended.

Side note: Avoid sounding racist, sexist or extremist.

4. Always suggest a way out

Foremost, Interview is not the place to show off your idealistic self. On the contrary, Interview demands reasonableness and workable solutions. Through the personality test, UPSC wants to check your decision-making skills, your ability to handle different situations while managing your stress. Panel members might shoot you with hypothetical situations and the key is imagining yourself in the real world with a similar situation, and most importantly, suggest a way out. Consider approaching it with tact and nuance with a way that’s feasible in your work.

Finally, good luck for the interview and don’t forget to practice before appearing for the actual interview!

(AK Mishra is Managing Director, Chanakya IAS Academy. Views expressed here are personal)

Source: Hindustan Times, 20-02-2017