O J's Corner : Reflections

Education, the Achilles’ heel
for Communists

Communists see red when it comes to the subject of education. Their avowed aim is to secure education for all. Rather, opportunities for all to have education, including professional education.

They vouchsafe it for a fact that the State cannot provide education, let alone professional education, to all aspirants.

I think they have come down from the age-old conviction that everything should be State provided.

Do they want private agencies to impart education to all, including professional education where the State has failed?

It is pure bravado on their part to force the private agencies to set up infrastructure, admit students and impart quality education at the rate of fee being fixed by them. Trying to do so is an extreme step.

The managements on their part should come clean on certain issues. There cannot be hanky-panky in admitting students only to corner fabulous amounts by way of fee or other pretexts.

The confusing state of affairs prevalent in the State centres round the rigidity of both the government and the managements to have their way about education. Dogmatic approach of the Communists and free-for-all demand of the managements would run on  parallel lines. Both should come to a compromise.

It appears fear of the opposite party is the stumbling block for a rapprochement. Who is there to act as an arbitrator? Or at least who will inspire both sides to take confidence-building measures?

That the government will not allow the managements to have their own common entrance test for admission of students in their institutions may not hold good before a court of law. There has not been any complaint before a court of law about mala fide in the conduct of the common entrance test conducted by them.

That the managements levying the fee fixed by Justice K T Thomas, appointed by the Supreme Court, cannot be conceded would end up in being dubbed as dialectical over-enthusiasm.

Control measures being adopted by the government at the instance of the Communists is on the premise that all professional colleges can be brought under governmental supervision considering all of them as similar players in the field.

For one thing, they are not on an equal footing. A majority of the private professional course operators are from the minority communities. They may not be running the show in all justice and fair play.

But they have the great weapon of Article 30 (1) of the Constitution guarding them. They can have educational institutions of their choice by which admission and appointments are within their purview. This has been settled by the Supreme Court umpteen times. Which means the issue has been challenged all the times in all futility.

The challenge to the minority status conferred on institutions by the Minorities Commission as demanded by the private managements concerned would only distance some sections of the society from the government.

Ultimately, who will suffer the in-equity? With the sole intention of reining in the minority institutions, the government has brought in the bridling provisions. When they get away with their affairs through the apex court, the other institutions would be left high and dry as they would have to bear the burden of government fiat on fee.