04 Jun 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. New India needs free and quality higher education

Syllabus: GS II, Social Justice, Issues relating to education

Prelims: National Education Policy 

Mains: Necessity to enhance the quality of education in India and the ways to achieve it. 

Context: The article highlights the reforms necessary for quality education and to make education affordable in the country. 

Present Scenario in India:

• There exists a plethora of challenges pertaining to quality education in India keeping into consideration the interventions by the government. 
• As the demand for quality education and research in leading universities across the globe is at its peak, the tuition fees demanded by universities are beyond the reach of students in terms of affordability. 
• The burden of tuition fees is becoming unbearable, thereby degrading the quality of education by transforming it into business. 
• This is why the dropout rates, especially in higher education, are extremely high in India. 
• The majority of the students from the economically disadvantaged section of the country are deprived of world-class education facilities and infrastructure. 
• The availability of educational loans even with government collateral guarantees has not solved the problem to a great extent. It has added to the debt of education loans that have a tendency to cripple the economy of development and public welfare. 

Intervening Steps:

• The National Education Policy 2020 which was proposed by the government has been perceived as a landmark step to refurbish the education system in a holistic and comprehensive manner. 
• This Policy requires effectiveness in the implementation process and consensus between the centre and states. 
• The National Educational Policy emphasised skill development and vocational training as the key ingredients to empower the basic foundation of the youth.
• As we celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the skill development of the youth becomes the foundation stone towards the achievement of a self-reliant India. 

Read more about National Education Policy in the shared link.

• Under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, several schools have been established with a vision to educate and skill millions of children at an early stage in an integrated and holistic manner. 
• The implementation of vocational education has increased considerably in the last six years.
• Increase in the number of schools from 960 in the year 2014-15 to 11,710 schools across the country in 2021-22. 
• At present, more than 1.5 million students are undertaking vocational training under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. 
• There are 62 skill courses available at the secondary and the senior secondary level.
• CBSE has also been considering vocational training as an important component of holistic education.
• Courses offered by CBSE also provide wide choices for schools and students to choose from the relevant competency-based courses. 
• The New Education Policy is centred on the purpose of transforming learning not only for cognitive development but also for building character accompanied by the essential skills that serve the demand of the 21st century. 

Read about National Skills Qualification Framework in the linked article.

Different models of education:

• The New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine is noteworthy to be exemplified as it had announced the payment of tuition fees for all its students admitted to their MD programme (post-graduate degree in medicine), regardless of their financial needs. This is the first major American medical school to do so. 
• This may be a model in the global education architecture which can be adopted and replicated in other countries. 
• Most of the Nordic countries provide free higher education to their people and overseas students. However, in Denmark, tuition fees were introduced for international students from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, in 2006. 
• Currently, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Germany are the Nordic countries that do not charge tuition fees to international students. 
• The Nordic model of education has attracted many students from across the world to acquire expertise in the field of their desire and avail employment opportunities. 

The road ahead for India:

• The government must ensure that there is proper availability of funds to facilitate quality education to the students, especially to the socially and economically backward section of the society and ensure that the funds are reaching those who are in need. 
• A strong sense of philanthropy and community involvement is required to enhance the quality of higher education in India. 
• More awareness campaigns must be carried out to mitigate the dropout rates and prevent the discontinuation of higher education among girls. 
• Challenges posed by prevailing inequalities in education in the light of social, economic and gender biases are to be addressed as they are the major impediments towards equitable education. 
• Therefore, the lofty goals of skilling the youth and churning out the potential of the demographic dividend can only be possible by the active participation of all the stakeholders of the entire education system contributing to nation-building. 
• It is expected that the government must act with generosity to make higher education in the country affordable and research tax-free.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Control and Delete

Syllabus: GS II, Governance, government policies and interventions

Prelims: IT Rules 2021, Article- 19 

Mains: Critical analysis of the new IT Rules 2021 in the light of free speech. 

Context: The Government has planned to set up a panel that can monitor and regulate the content moderation decisions made by social media platforms. This has invited a large number of arguments. 

Delving deeper:

• According to the Amendment of the IT rules 2021, one or more appellate committees will be constituted to deliver the final word on any content moderation issue facing a social media platform. 
• The government policies on the regulation of content available on social media are with the objective of ensuring an open, safe, trusted and accountable internet service to the users. 
• Social media has a remarkable influence on the lives of billions of people and therefore, it becomes extremely important to develop preparedness to prevent any misuse of social media that hampers the true spirit of democracy. 
• Lack of authenticity of content available on social media, false news, politically motivated arguments, inciting the people to violence, spreading negativity and anti-government sentiments are some of the major concerns surrounding the entire hamlet of social media. 

Have a comprehensive understanding of the New IT Rules 2021 in the linked article.

The tightening grip of government: 

• Constituting panels for the regulation of content on social media will curb the spread of alternative voices.
• This will offer the government an unbridled authority to decide on an issue in which the aggrieved user is a government entity or a ruling party member. 
• Such interference will also narrow down the scope of dissent and people’s expression to which social media acts as an effective platform. This will be a blow to the very ethos of democracy. 
• The highly criticised IT rules have been further complicated through the new changes according to the experts. 

Way Ahead:

• It is of enormous importance that social media platforms are regulated.
• However, it is evident that setting up the government committees will not serve the real purpose of dealing with the major concerns of social media platforms and is certainly not the accurate answer to the existing issues. 
• It must be noted that the tightening grip that comes with the consequences of the new amendments to the IT rules is a detrimental blow to the right of the people to free speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution.