Just do it

Arjun Singh, as the new Union minister for human resource development, has two immediate tasks before him. Both involve undoing the damage perpetrated by the NDA government in its haste to go down as the saviour of the country8217;s 8220;value education8221;. One, he should begin by restoring status quo ante on the Indian Institute of Management issue; institute a quick turning back of the clock to the earlier days. Two, he should also wind up the misconceived Bharat Shiksha Kosh and allow all those who wish to donate funds to their alma maters, in India or abroad, to do so directly to the institutions of their choice.

The stupendously foolish run-in that Arjun Singh8217;s predecessor, Murli Manohar Joshi, had with the IIMs and the people of distinction who ran them, would surely go down as one of the most benighted campaigns every undertaken during the Vajpayee years. To be fair to the previous government, it was not a project that either the BJP or its allies was particularly keen about or even proud of. It was Joshi8217;s personal hobby horse, which he rode with great passion. While it got him nowhere, it damaged considerably the national and international reputation of one of India8217;s most prestigious institutions of learning. Arjun Singh must now return to the IIMs and IITs their full autonomy and ensure that the government stays out of meddling in their affairs. The politically expedient fee cuts Joshi had ordered must go. Further, he must issue marching orders to the control freak babus that were running riot and causing what came to be dubbed as 8216;Pandey-monium8217; in Shastri Bhavan. The Express has published transcripts of the language deployed by these officials when they held out threats to the IIM board. These are not the kind of persons who should be dealing with academia.

There is also a general principle that Singh needs to keep in mind as he goes about wielding the broom. As he sets out to reverse the saffronisation of education, he should not allow the ideologically committed on the Left of the spectrum to occupy the vacuum. It8217;s no point having the colour red replace the colour saffron. Rather, he must bring nationally recognised and respected professionals into these organisations and give them the independence and confidence to discharge their responsibilities as best as they can. Remember that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the chairman of the University Grants Commission in 1991 before he took charge as the Union finance minister. It is such men of distinction and intellectual integrity that we need in our educational system today.