ST. XAVIER'S COLLEGE 125 Years
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Stamp Issue Date : 12/04/1985 Postage Stamp Denomination
: Re 1.00 Postal Stamp Serial Number
: 1158 Postal Stamp Name :
ST.XAVIERS
COLLEGE |
Panel Discussion On Education
And Economic Development
J. Felix Raj, SJ.
St Xavier’s organized a panel discussion on the “Role of Education in Economic Development” on February 17 on the occasion of its 125th anniversary celebrations.
The main participants were the
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mr. Jyoti Basu, Mr. L. K. Jha, Chairman
Economic Administrative Reforms Commission, Mr.
Siddhartha Sankar Ray, former minster
of
Mr. Jha who chaired the discussion, said there is an urgent need to restructure the educational system by de-linking degrees from jobs. The need of the hour was to properly motivate people to influence educational policies.
Mr. Jha said, “Students who come to study with jobs in mind are not as motivated as those who study to carry on research and enhance their knowledge”.
He emphasized that only the “brightest students should go for higher education and the rest be inducted into technical training. This would avoid wastage of valuable manpower needed for productive activities, he added.
Mr. Jha said educational programmes should not be allowed to be considered by the rural people as an “interference”. He suggested, in order to infuse interest in education among rural people as an “interference”. He suggested, in order to infuse interest in education among rural children, the school timings could be adjusted so that the children could study as well as help their parents in the field.
English, though important as the
official language, need not be emphasised at the primary level, Mr. Jha
said, But when it is learnt at the higher level, it
must be up to the mark, he added.
Mr. Jha said the disparity
between the educated and the illiterate in the country is as wide as the
unequal economic development of the country. He suggested that, some practical
measures be taken to fit education into the programme
of economic development.
Mr. Jyoti Basu
said there had been no clear-cut Central policies on education. What ever
steps were taken by the government had proved to be "negative".
He said that nearly 20 commissions on education had
submitted their reports to the Government, but there had been no progress at
all. Mr. Basu urged the planners and educationists to
find out what had gone wrong with the country's planning and to take up
education seriously as it deserved to be.
He invited serious discussion on education and how it
should be fitted into the socio-economic welfare of the masses. He said that
education needed to be more work, oriented.
Regarding the teaching of English, Mr. Basu said that there was no question of discarding it. In
a multilingual country like India English could be the link language. But he maintained
that at the primary level, children should not be burdened with any other
language than the mother tongue.
Mr. Ray said education should not be an end in itself
but should aim at acquiring some values. He suggested that youth be persuaded
to serve the people for one undergraduate year by teaching in the village,
primary schools. The scheme, he said, had been tried by Dr. Fidel Castro in
While English was the ''Language of the world",
Prof. P. Lal of St. Xavier's
College said that education should be life-oriented and the syllabi should be
made "relevant to the Indian context.
Pro. Sukanta Chowdhury,
while agreeing with Mr. Basu's suggestion on a work
oriented education, said that degrees and jobs should be linked in an "organic
manner”.
Mr. Barun De, an alumnus of St. Xavier's College,
said there was need for a greater clarity in planning education. A
“socio-economic transformation in the country" was vital for policy
implementation and providing jobs for the surplus labour,
he added.
Prof. A. Sen of St. Xavier's College was critical
of the present education system in the country. He said the "perverted
aristocracy", which ruled the country at present, did only "marginal
service" in the name of
programmes for education and economic
development. He wondered how long the people would tolerate "such
hypocrisy".
Fr. Joseph D'Souza, the
Principal of St, Xavier's College, emphasised wider
use of the mass media to teach the large section of the people living below the
poverty line. He called for greater allocation of funds for "non-formal
education".
Mrs. Anuradha Chowdhury, teacher of St. Xavier's School, said that
education should be Faith-and-justice oriented. She said the "content and
curriculum" of secondary education was overburdened, and stressed the
urgent need for pragmatic policies.
Mr. Robin Robins, secretary, St. Xavier's College Students'
[The Herald, Friday, March 1, 1985.]