Already, bureaucratic administrators are deputed in many premier institutions . These administrators are not from the field of education. Sitting at the top of the institution, they possess the supreme authority to decide about the education policy, course, curriculum, examination methods and many such important matters . Naturally, the consequences are found to be disastrous there. The students, teachers, non-teaching staffs are to struggle relentlessly against the bureaucratic management. The last year incidents of teachers vs Education department and others are the glaring example of it. Now , if the IAES is introduced, it will establish an absolute bureaucratic control over education which will sound death knell to the ‘Democratic Education “ that presupposes democratically elected councils of educationists, academicians, teachers ,parents and students representatives to decide everything related to education
What does quality in education signify? It entails sound grasp of different disciplines of knowledge along with aptitude for original thinking on the basis of which two, one can build ones’ character with deep sense of human values and social responsibility to guide life activities. As quality of education of each individual rises , society benefits not only from their skill, expertise and acumen , but also from their selfless ,responsible service to the society . Hence quality of education cannot be achieved as individual efforts to generate quality and preserve it. Thus quality of education hinges upon involvement of both teachers and students, the two pillars of the system one who imparts education and the other who receives it . If they are not concerned or chained in different Programmes other then teachings learning process or forced to rub their forehead on spit ,the issue of quality becomes nobody’s business. And urge for quality generated only in an individual of character. An individual wanting in strength of character will find what he teaches or what he learns are meaningless, superfluous verbosity . Irrefutably, a character truly lofty can be acquired only when is guided by a philosophy of life that can correctly set the object of life and the precise role of quality of education to help attain that object. Unfortunately and undeniably, in the present setup all these aspects seems to be largely and pathetically missing.
The question of autonomy of education is often discussed . It is not a utopian idea of any person, rather a prerequisite of democratic education .The education system must be free from external control over the range of subjects study and methods of teaching and research. We have to keep it equally free from the trammels in other directions -political fetters etc
The writer is chief spokesperson Rti foundation