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Interviews | DMK MP P Wilson interviewed by Ragamalika Karthikeyan (TheNewsMinute.com)
DMK MP P Wilson interviewed by Ragamalika Karthikeyan (TheNewsMinute.com)

DMK MP P Wilson interviewed by Ragamalika Karthikeyan (TheNewsMinute.com)

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published Published on Feb 21, 2022   modified Modified on Feb 23, 2022

-TheNewsMinute.com

“The suggestion to have a uniform syllabus across the country and a single board is the brainchild of the right wing, which wants to create a homogenous nation, in place of the wonderfully diverse and multicultural society we have now.”

In the crucial debate around federalism and states’ rights, one of the biggest issues is education. The subject was moved from the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution to the Concurrent List during the Emergency — meaning, the powers to legislate on subjects related to education, which were exclusively with state legislatures, were changed in such a way that both state Assemblies and the Parliament will have the power, with Parliament having supremacy over state Assemblies. This is why the National Education Policy (NEP), or the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which are brought in by the Union government, take precedence over state governments’ own policies.

Now, DMK MP in the Rajya Sabha, P Wilson, has moved a Private Member’s Bill in the House to remove education from the Concurrent List. However, he doesn’t want the subject moved back only to the State List — he wants the Union and states to have parallel powers, without the Union holding any supremacy over states. What does this mean, and why does he believe these parallel powers are necessary?

P Wilson is the lawyer who won the case for 27% reservation for OBCs in All India Quota for medical admissions in the Madras High Court, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court. He was the Additional Solicitor General for India for the High Courts Madras, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and their benches between 2012 and 2014, when he resigned as the BJP-led NDA government came into power at the central government. In a detailed interview with TNM, Wilson talks about his Parliamentary interventions on education, why he wants education on State List and Union List, and why competitive exams do not determine ‘merit’. Excerpts from the interview below:

* You’ve introduced two Private Member’s Bills in the Parliament related to education — the first is the Medical Education Amendment Bill, and the latest is a Bill to remove Education from the Concurrent List. Why should state governments have a bigger say in education, compared to the Union government? What is the problem with centralising education? When it comes to school education, some people say it’s desirable to have a uniform syllabus across the country so that all students in India are on an equal footing…

Both the Private Member’s Bills operate in different spheres and for different purposes. The first Bill was introduced by me on 3.12.2021, which is titled as “The Medical Education Laws Amendment Bill 2021.” The Amendment Bill is seeking to dispense with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Medical and Dental courses in states which don't want to have NEET.

Education is a matter placed in Entry 25 of List III of Schedule 7 of the Constitution, meaning thereby the state legislature also has legislative competence over the field, and by extension, the executive of that state. By unilaterally assimilating to the central government the power to conduct entrance examinations like NEET, the basic feature of the Constitution, particularly the federal structure is violated.

The second Bill introduced by me on 4.2.2022 is one seeking an amendment to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, by deleting entry 25 in the Concurrent List, and creating parallel powers by adding Education, including technical education, medical education and universities etc, to both the Union List and the State List.

Education was a field which the framers of our Constitution felt should be in the sole domain of state legislatures. Therefore, when the Constitution was drafted and adopted, education was placed as Entry 11 of the State List. However, the Constitutional (Forty-second) Amendment Act, 1976 passed during the Emergency, removed Education from the State List and placed it as Entry 25 in the Concurrent List. This was on the basis of the report by the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee which recommended various amendments and distribution of powers from the State List to the Concurrent List.

But the need for the Union to be able to regulate admissions to institutions and universities established by it and funded by it cannot be denied. In fact, the Union has established several reputed medical institutions like All India Institute of Medical Sciences and other such institutions. Similarly, the Union must also be able to establish and run schools like Kendriya Vidyalaya.

However, placing education in the Concurrent List, which cedes primacy in the sphere to Parliament, has gravely circumscribed the ability of states to regulate admissions to institutions and universities established by the state, at its own cost. The example of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test applying to all states, removing their autonomy to regulate medical education, is a glaring example of this. Many states have been heavily investing in medical and technical education since independence. The results are there for all to see. Several states have achieved high rates of literacy through dedicated investment in education infrastructure. However, suddenly, through the introduction of NEET, without the concurrence of states, the states’ powers to regulate admission to institutions established by them are taken away totally.

The policies of the Union and states on education often differ, and lead to a direct conflict with state laws. The state’s Policy on reservation also has a direct conflict with Union’s reservation in seats in institutes and universities under the state, which ultimately have an impact on literacy rate.

The Union can also be allowed to establish and administer and fund Education. However, unless the states have absolute autonomy to have their policy on Education, the object of growth and strengthening of language which is the identity of the state would only be a myth and mirage.

School education lays the foundations of a person’s life. That is why the education policies of each state differ and the state would want to impart education in line with the state’s unique culture, identity, language and history. However, since education as a whole has been placed in the Concurrent List, any policy of the Union like the ‘National Educational Policy’ will decimate the diversity in education across India.

The philosophy of “one education policy” is inappropriate in the field of education. In education, the outlook should be inclusive and broad, not exclusive and narrow. Even if laws are now enacted by the state legislature pertaining to school education, they can be modified by Union laws if the Parliament wishes to legislate laws on the subject. Assent of the President can be withheld on the advice of the Union government to state legislation which contradict Union legislation. Thus, effectively, the Union government can take control over schools established, funded and run by states. This would spell disaster for diversity. Only the states can ensure that education reaches the grass root level. Welfare schemes for a state specific community/caste can be brought and implemented only by the state. Therefore, allowing the aforesaid subjects to continue in the Concurrent List causes grave threat to the federal structure and that is the reason I have introduced the above Bill.

The suggestion to have a uniform syllabus across the country and a single board is the brainchild of the right wing, including the RSS and BJP, who want to create a homogenous nation, in place of the wonderfully diverse and multicultural society we have now. The CBSE, which was established with that idea, is not found in remote villages, and the Union government has miserably failed to have more number of affiliated schools. The KV Schools established by the Union government are located only in cities and not in remote villages. If the Union government is more eager, it has to establish more schools at their own cost, and not centralise and nationalise school education, indirectly controlling the schools established at the cost of the state exchequer. That will amount to encroaching into states’ domain and rights to educate their own people.

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TheNewsMinute.com, 21 February, 2022, https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-education-should-be-state-list-and-union-list-dmk-mp-p-wilson-161193


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