Is Modi targeting Indian curriculum?

New Delhi: The Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry, headed by controversial actor-turned-minister Smriti Irani, has asked the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts ICSE and ISC examinations in the country, to furnish reasons to justify its existence.

In December last year, the Ministry asked the Council to submit documents showing the government’s approval of the memorandum of association and rules and regulations of the body.

Smriti Irani, was president of the ruling party BJP's Women's Wing, before she was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to head the HRD Ministry.

The Ministry’s reminder to the council was apparently prompted by a notice from Delhi High Court on a petition filed by Jose Aikara, who was removed as chairman of the council in November last year.

The letter was sent by D K Bhawsar, deputy education adviser to HRD ministry, and addressed to the executive officer and secretary of CISCE.

Last week, the Ministry sent a reminder asking the Council to expedite the matter and furnish the reply immediately.

The Ministry’s reminder to the council was apparently prompted by a notice from Delhi High Court on a petition filed by Jose Aikara, who was removed as chairman of the council in November last year.

Aikara was removed following charges of financial irregularities and violation of rules. In the petition, Aikara has mentioned that the Council has been recognised under Section 2 (S) of the Delhi School Education Act 1973.

The CISCE website also says the Council has been listed in the Delhi School Education Act 1973 as a body conducting public examinations.

However, according to sources in the HRD Ministry, after receiving the notice from Delhi High Court, the Ministry officials hunted for records on the CISCE but could not find any document that suggested it had been set up by an executive order of the government or Act of Parliament.

Some believe the Ministry sent the letter and subsequent reminder in a hurry to nettle the CISCE, given that many of its schools are run by Christian managements.

According to the Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE), which coordinates with all the school education boards in the country, Class X and XII certificates can be issued only by and under the seal of a board duly established by an act of Parliament or state legislature or by an executive order of the central or state government.

In 1952, an All India Certificate Examinations Conference was held under the chairmanship of then education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

The main purpose of the conference was to consider replacement of the overseas Cambridge School Certificate Examination by an all-India examination. This set the agenda for the establishment of CISCE.

COBSE general secretary Puran Chand has said the CISCE is a legally valid board and has been recognised under a central law passed by Parliament (the 1973 Act).

“The act of Parliament mentions the CISCE. That is sufficient. For us, it is a recognised board,” he said. But HRD Ministry officials say the 1973 Act merely mentions the CISCE for the purpose of defining a public examination.

Defending Irani, sources in the Ministry said: “Asking about rules and regulations or asking them to submit approved Memorandum of Associations is not amounting to asking for justifying its existence.

It simply amounts to asking clarifications as to how they conduct their business and to check subsequently whether they conduct their business in accordance to their own rules and also the rules for which approvals were granted to them. There is nothing wrong in asking these.”

As many as 150,000 students from 1,900 schools in the country appeared for the ICSE examinations this year. As many as 71,000 Class XII students from more than 900 schools took the Indian School Certificate (ISC) test earlier this year.

“With rising admission cut offs into colleges, most or almost all schools in Delhi have changed over from ICSE to CBSE, where it is relatively easier to qualify for admission. The problem is enormous and involves demand and supply; supply of kids moving out of schools is not proportionate to the number of seats available for admission into a decent college.

"It is like a pyramid, but should be an inverted pyramid to ensure every child has a chance to get a degree and a skill thereafter that is job oriented. The social dynamic maturity level would improve and this would have a cascading effect on all kinds of issues ranging from improved morality to a more civil and tolerant society respecting each others needs and space.

"The Board system of education needs complete overhauling and a proper mechanism must be formed after due deliberations,” says Dr R K Srivastava, retired teacher of National Public School.