By TCN News,
New Delhi: Giving the key-note address in a conference on education, Prof. Shyam B Menon, Vice- Chancellor of the Ambedkar University, Delhi said that Jamia Millia Islamia has a different DNA and that is what made it stand out as part of Indian National Movement and got juxtaposed with other universities in India before independence that were essentially instruments of imperial authority created through consensual hegemonic process.
He opined that Jamia offered a counter epistemology which was not oriented to strengthening western pedagogy of education but postulating a new credo altogether. He emphasized how important it was to reflect upon the nationalist assertion of Jamia.
Elaborating the idea he stated that it was very relevant to shake off intellectual slavery that manifested through our allegiance to western paradigms and frameworks that were created in different contexts and far removed in time and space. Education in India, in the 21st century, needs alternative epistemology to go beyond the principle of “sorting and selecting” to address issues of inequality and social distance that is evident both in education and health sectors. The tertiary education system in India should ensure inclusive and organic growth. Economic growth, he felt, cannot be a goal by itself. Growth must ensure social development in sync with access, equity and quality in the sector of education.
The entire spectrum of education merits overhaul in India to guarantee access, equity and quality, said Prof. Ved Prakash, Chairperson, University Grants Commission. Delivering the inaugural address of the International Education Conference today in Jamia Millia Islamia to mark the Platinum Jubilee of the prestigious Faculty of Education, Prof. Ved Prakash underscored that a teacher’s concern should go beyond classroom and the teachers’ educational programme should take into its ambit the linkage between elementary and higher education.
Prof. S. M. Sajid, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, who spoke on the occasion, talked of how Jamia offered an alternative epistemology by fostering the educational credo of Nai Taleem. He spoke of Jamia’s commitment to education-for-all with special focus on minorities and women. He dwelt upon how Jamia Millia Islamia had made special interventions, in the form of Communicative English Programme and Self-Enrichment Programme, for a large number of students who come from disadvantaged sections of society and madarsas who are more often than not first -generation learners and who look at Jamia Millia Islamia as a life-changing opportunity. He stressed that such institutions must get suitably recognized and financially supported.
Arguing for a paradigm shift in transactional methodology, he referred to the disconnect that existed between school education and university education in India. He averred that it was the constitutional obligation of the state to provide similar education across the schools. Besides ensuring skill-acquisition and employability the education system, among other things, should develop questioning minds that do not necessarily look for answers in books. This alone, he underlined, would spur the task of nation- building.
The conference was also addressed by Mr. Shigeru Aoyagi, Director, UNESCO who spoke of its role in promotion of education in India and how relevant the issue of demographic dividend could get for the country. The UNESCO is partnering with the Faculty of Education in Jamia for various educational projects. Prof. Ahrar Husain, Dean, Faculty of Education, and Prof. A. Masih welcomed the international delegates and thanked them for their overwhelming participation in the international seminar that would deliberate varied issues related to the Right to Education.