Bhubaneswar, July 28: Delving deep into the need of the time and flying yet up & above the ‘Magna Carta’ of the Indian education system, Dharmendra Pradhan, during his tenure as Union Education Minister, devised competency based & youth focused higher education out of his vision, said ace academicians.

Underlining the golden era of education craved out during the Narendra Modi-led NDA government by Dharmendra Pradhan, who recently stepped down from the Union Council, a panel of ace academicians opined that the nation was indeed on a higher track with respect to the global education standard.

Vice Chancellor, Odisha State Open University Prof. Shyam Sundar Pattnaik said, refurbishing the Anglicist & Orientalist frameworks of Indian system of education, formulated by Lord Macaulay and other contemporary British Authorities Pradhan, as a visionary transformed the educational ecosystem with a holistic approach in view of seeing a ‘Viksit Bharat’, that’s dreamt and shaped from the classrooms.

Though the system of education, domains of curricula with teaching-learning process, have seen a sea change in quantitative and qualitative ways, foreseeing a developed nation, the socio-economic factors have hindered a lot in achieving all of its goals and objectives till the nineties. However, in the year 2014, the country realized the outcome-based education system, leading to bringing policies to transform the output-based education system to outcome-based education system. Country could manage to sign Washington accord as a member mainly to improve the quality of graduate engineering education. But the rapid technological development, SDG Goals, tough global mobility demanded beyond out-come based education.

While the nation was desperately looking for effective pathways to support its large youth aspirations, Dharmendra Pradhan being a youth icon joined as Union Education Minister of the nation who envisioned world-class education across the nation.

As an elated student’s aspiration-oriented leader, Pradhan quickly realized that out-come based education system alone can’t fulfill the youth aspiration hence, focused on competency-based education system.

Inculcating skill & competency-based education system in a first, Pradhan formulated industry demanded competency based education system, and brought in aggressive technologyintegration to education system thereby, facilitating integration of skill to knowledge, transparency in data by initiating concept of ‘One nation one data’ in education system, tracking the mole and bringing technology solution for error free sustainable remedial action, truth and time relevant fact to make education rich in values, hold to own roots, culture while successful in global workspace are his recent efforts.

Talentfirst, is reflected in his sole efforts to bring the reputed universities from across the developed countries for giving equal opportunity to talents deprived of having higher education from global universities due to financial constraint.

School Education is the feeder for quality higher education system which Pradhan realized, for which all out efforts were made by him not only for expansion but also to make quality as pivotal.

During Pradhan’s tenure, came the existence of PM Shree schools. Rich tradition and the deep-rooted culture which was part of our education system in our ancient time and got neglected by foreign invasion, was given utmost importance in Education. Thus Indian traditional education and knowledge has come to a visible state in name of IKS (Indian Knowledge System).

The implementation of education system for Vikshit Bharat launched as NEP-2020 could move forward as Prandhan became a strong mover of the policy and instrumental for the developed learning.

Pradhan’s tenure as an Union Minister is an example of transformational transformation not transitional transformation which was the earlier trends. The tangible outcomes which were planned by him for the youth of the country will see the day light as he has already built & strengthened the foundation which was long awaited for nation.

Education integrated with skill embed with values having flavor of our deep-rooted tradition empowered with technology is his role model of education system for holistic development of the youth of this country who are the hopes and contributors of Vikshit Bharat.

Indian Higher Education System since the independence went through periodical transformations. In the year, 1947, the education was a British Model of Education which then Government with the establishment of University Education Commission in 1948-49 and subsequently with creation of University Grants Commission in 1956 tried for improvement and strengthening research, innovation and post graduate education system of the country.

Expansion of education system including establishment of technical institutions started as part of the routine support of five years plan. In the year, 1964-66, Kothari Commission recommendation was to fix a certain percentage of GDP for education system.

In the year 1986, the National Policy on Education was published and was revised in the year 1992. The policy was more focused on expansion, open and distance learning. The country saw the privatization of education in the year 1991 and allowed private investors to offer higher education. Alongside of the rapid growth of higher education institutions, the country saw sharp rise in cost of education.

Global workforce opportunity demanded for quality improvement of the higher education system hence, National Board of Accreditation (NBA), National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) came into existence. The launch of RUSA scheme in the year 2013 to support creation of infrastructure also was a move to improve the higher education system. But in the whole of these transformations, evolutions and efforts, the higher education system more or less revolved around the British Model of Education System trying for output-based education.

Prof. Pattnaik said, in a journey of almost 7-decades i.e. 1947 to 2013, the higher education system of the country moved from pure British model of education to output based & life-centered education system. Meanwhile, Pradhan’s valuable contribution to the ‘Indian System of Education’ in the scientific era will be a milestone for the nation and thriving instrument for the youths to build up a new nation. With the step-down of the visionary on the mid way, the country missed a golden chance to place the higher education in the righteous orbit which the country was looking forward to come at par with the global realms of education.