|
|||||
| Issue 07 | February 2006 | ||||
|
The seminar was organized by the Fredrick Naumann Foundation, which is a policy research think tank of the liberal party of Germany. The participation was diverse by a variety of standards including age, country, cultural background, academic background and so on. On the thirteenth of November 2005 we were to embark on a thirteen day seminar on education in the light of liberal philosophy. The Acedamy in Gummersbach, where the seminar was held, is situated at the top of a hill, surrounded by fiery orange and green woods. The air instilled heavenly freshness in ones mind and body, isolated from the hustle-bustle of city life, it was an ideal place to engage in intellectual pursuit. There were a number of fundamentally important issues discussed, some of which I wish to touch upon. There are primarily three schools of thought: liberalism, socialism and conservatism. Though all recognize the importance of education, liberals assume that men are rational and hence think that individuals (students and parents) should decide what is to be taught (content) and how it is to be taught (methodology). Liberals believe that good outcomes are only a result of discussion, debate and competition; and this is only possible if there is a plural system with different models of schooling existing alongside each other. When one embarks on the issue of education, from a public policy perspective, it is essential to ponder on the question – “how do we learn?” There are of course multiple ways and sources, parents, media, community and schools imparting formal, non-formal, and technical education are sources. It is important to recognize that the teacher’s passion, competence and proficiency, along with an environment which encourages free questioning of existing believes and notions are of utmost importance in school based education. And parents can play a pivotal role in choosing such institutions for their children. The importance of education has been long recognized by philosophers, economists and thinkers from various ideological backgrounds. Development of human capital is essential for the growth of any economy, as it enhances labour productivity and ability to make individual choices. However, education is also fundamentally important from the point of view of law & justice and human rights; as individual must know their rights and methods of fighting against discrimination through democratic institutions. Overall, education is not only important in itself but also in achieving many other ends. Political priorities in education differ in developed and developing countries. Developed countries are concerned with ways in which research and development can be improved, the role of intellectual property rights, integration of immigrants, specialized higher education and reducing subsidies. Whereas developing countries continue to be engaged with far more basic issues such as extending primary education to the masses, encouraging donations and funds from international donor agencies, promoting tolerance, vocational training, and gender sensitizing. However, one broad method which can be used to address the above problems is greater involvement of the private sector, and more targeted state subsidies. Redesigning the financing of higher education is especially important, especially in developing countries where this may free some resources for primary education. Furthermore to improve the quality of higher education greater autonomy must be granted to the universities, and faculty members must be provided with the appropriate incentives both financial and others (research opportunities). In the context of higher education the issue of “brain drain” is important especially in an increasingly globalising world. Brain drain typically involves a process of socialisation of costs and privatisation of benefits. In Cuba, no individual is allowed to leave the country before the pay back all that the state has spend on their education. Such a measure violates individual liberty, however it is also important to find ways whereby masses are not taxed for the benefit of the few. One way, is the loan financing of higher education, where the individuals can leave their nations, however they shall also pay back the sums that was spend for their education. Financing of education is a fundamentally important issue and in this respect Prof. James Tooley’s presentation was enlightening. And there was a general perception amongst the participants that running of state schools is not the appropriate way ahead. There was great agreement amongst the participant with regards to decentralization of education system and greater privatization. Though the issue of education vouchers cropped up repeatedly, it was disappointing that there was no presentation on the topic. Even some of the government officials were unaware of education vouchers and others pointed towards its international failure. One participant shared the experience of Lithuania, where education vouchers have failed. I, of course, disagreed. Though education vouchers may have failed in some countries, it is important to study the nature and causes of the failure before one discards it. A bicycle without a pedal will not work, and an argument that claims that it is 90% complete so it should work 90% of the time, is critically flawed. The success of education vouchers depends on a number of variables including the degree of regulation in opening and closing of private schools, the nature of targeting and existence of mechanisms to prevent corruption (right to information for example), the voucher amount, the voucher model, the duration which is used to judge its success or failure, the standards which are used to judge its performance, and so on. The working of education vouchers demands to be studied and explained. The issue of religion caused a great deal of disagreement amongst the participants. Some argued that religion should be allowed to be taught in schools because individuals must have the liberty to choose, that people should have the right to spend their tax money as they wish, moreover religious institutions contribute to increasing literacy in some countries. Those who argued against teaching of religion in schools claimed that religion may lead to fundamentalism, and sectarianism, both of which are threat to any society. There is also a fundamental difference between religion and education. Education encourages one to think and question existing believes and notions, whereas religion on the other hand asks one to believe, and the questioning of the existence of God/gods is considered to be blasphemy and seldom tolerated by religious preachers. I personally think that religion will anyway be taught by parents, schools should concentrate on imparting “scientific knowledge” and philosophical thinking; so that individuals are exposed to various kinds of knowledge. This debate is a very complex one and involves many more dimensions, and one must also differentiate between arguing for not teaching religion in schools run on the states funds and banning of all religious schools. The later would involve violation of individual liberty to freely believe, practice and preach. We visited Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp of Nazi Germany, where a documentary was screened; and we took a tour of the place. Not much is left of the camp itself as the British soldiers had to burn down the place to prevent the spread to typhus, however the foundation stones and some structures such as the toilets can still be seen. Various memorial have been constructed at the site in the memory of the thousands of innocent victims who had lost their lives. It is was indeed a touching experience. Democracy is like the eyes, so fundamental to guiding social progress, yet often appreciate only ones its lost. It is vital to build space for public discussion and debate, and to continuously question existing notions. Education assumes paramount importance in this respect. We were able to engaged in various leisure activities during the trip. German beer, snow fight, trip to the Cathedral at Cologne and Roman museums, and the indoor games at the academy were great fun indeed. It was a life-time experience to interact with the varied participant with whom I had many memorable discussion; I was amazed at the stories of some of the participant from Eastern Europe who had themselves lived during period of hyper-inflation, economic is no longer what it used to be before the trip. I am indebted to Parth J Shah, the entire Centre for Civil Society team, and the Fredrick Naumann Foundation for providing me with such great opportunity, which has indeed equipped me to have a better understanding to the realities within which we live.
Shruthi’s experience… The seminar on No education gave me a huge amount of international exposure, and a better awareness of the issues that are faced in education reform, both in India and around the world. My research paper on education in Chandigarh was a micro-analysis of education reform, and the seminar gave me a macro perspective on the same. I wish to pursue a career in public policy and analysis and I think that this seminar has contributed widely to my interest in the same. Also, it gave me a primer to the ideas and ideals of liberalism, and has encouraged me to find out more about these ideas, especially in the context of education. I am still in touch with many of the participants and my inputs on education systems around the world, reforms and policy alternatives, are constantly being upgraded and updated. All in all, I would say that the seminar was an experience that was well worth the time and the effort and would like to thank FNST for the opportunity. I am looking forward to more work on education and liberalism, and would be grateful if I could be informed of any other projects, seminars and other opportunities that come up in this context, and that I am eligible for. * Editor's Note: Vipin, Shruthi & Anil were selected to attend this seminar from over 60 participants who participated in the online selection process! We are indeed very proud of them!
|
|
Centre
for Civil Society |
|
To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe@ccsindia.org |