How We “Make In India”: Is It By Bulldozing The Education System?
By By Rakesh S
10 March, 2016
Countercurrents.org
When we look at the recent attack on the universities, one question which automatically crops up in our mind is, Why the BJP government is against “educating the minds of youth” of this country. The Rohit Vemula episode, unrest in FTII Pune, protest in Jadhavpur University, the appointment of RSS inclined individuals (with very slender academic credentials) as heads of various Institutions, the budget allocations in the education sector and the recent JNU incident are some of the cases to prove the BJP’s larger political agenda. In the aftermath of JNU incident, there have been numerous debates about the government’s battle for ideological control for Indian universities, however not much attention has been paid to the treatment of education, especially higher education by the current government. In order to understand the larger agenda, there is a need to look at it through multiple lenses, one way is through the lens of much hyped “Make in India” campaign.
The BJP govt. has been giving importance to skill development since its formation. Numerous policies and programmes have been designed in order to propel the “Make in India” campaign. Our Prime Minister seems intent on placing renewed emphasis on skill development. He has been stressing on reaping the demographic dividend of our young population, however it looks like he intends to limit it to the manufacturing and service sector, that too at the labour class level. If we look at all the major announcements related to make in India, the thrust of the BJP government is to make the environment conducive for industry. The push for skill development is an attempt at creating a pool of cheap labour, which will attract corporates to expand its base in India. It will be supported by the recently proposed labour reforms, which will make it easy for companies to hire and fire as they wish, and pay whatever salaries they can get away with. Reducing red tapism and labour bureaucracy might be an argument of the government in favour of labour reforms, however the reality of the proposed reform is nothing, but labour exploitation in the name of “ease of doing business”. In order to pursue the neoliberal agendas, the current government will tighten the screw on labour to extract more value. When the focus of the government is on favouring the capital class, why would it waste its resources on educating the young minds of our country.
Adam Smith argues “though the interest of the labourer is strictly connected with that of the society, he is incapable either of comprehending that interest, or of understanding its connection with his own. His condition leaves him no time to receive the necessary information and his education and habits are commonly such as to render him unfit to judge even though he was fully informed". This is exactly what BJP intends to do by promoting skill development. “Make in India” aims at create a large pool of young labour class, who are unable to understand the external world and its structural injustices. BJP and its sister organizations are well aware of the fact that quality education helps in intellectual growth and critical thinking. An important part of education, particularly higher education is to learn to ask questions. No government would like to be questioned, particularly if it is inefficient, communal and do not have much to offer, other than empty promises. Hence BJPs obsession of taking control of academic campuses is a planned and systematic attempt to muzzle the ‘art of questioning’. There is not an iota of doubt that what these attempts are all about and who stood to gain from them.
India needs a vibrant educational system to meet the demands of a knowledge economy. The demographic dividend that awaits our nation from its youthful population should not be squandered in the name of ‘growth’. A large proportion of youth belong to modest to extremely poor families. Good education will help these youth to climb up the social and economic ladder. These students should be given an opportunity to join the thriving middle class. History tells us that poor has been compartmentalized for years by the elite class in ways they want. Being poor is a big impediment to getting the education that lifts one out of poverty. Social mobility is only possible in the presence of educational opportunities. In such a scenario, the welfare state cannot snatch the right to pursue higher education. Only time will tell, if “Make in India” proves worthwhile, however if we are really serious about reaping the benefits of demographic dividend then there is a dire need to educate our young people, so that they can take advantage of what the world has to offer them in the 21st century. This will happen only, if we create a large pool of scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, artists, sport persons, social scientists etc, mere skill development won’t work in any way. In the name of reforms, the state power is carrying out their agenda in the stealthiest way possible. If we really care about “acche din” of our young population, then the ‘hegemonic mediocrity’ of “Make in India” should not be allowed to flourish.
Rakesh S is a research student at Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He can be contacted at [email protected]