New Delhi, July 14: Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav took digs at each other in the Lok Sabha over English education and entry of foreign universities into India.
Yadav, known for his anti-English stand, said forcing foreign languages on Indian students will spread inequality in the country.
“I want to warn the government that forcing foreign language on students in the country will spread inequality”, he said. Yadav contended that English language was spoken only in seven countries across the world.
“Even in Italy it (English) is not spoken,” he said pointing at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Yadav said the government should set up better universities rather than have ones from abroad. “We have no shortage of scholars. We should set up our own world-class universities,” he said.
In reply, Sibal sarcastically said, “Ï am aware that we have lots of learned people (scholars) and he (Yadav) was one of them, but we don’t have enough learned institutions.” “English is an international language and if top class foreign universities want to come “on our terms”, they should be welcomed,” Sibal added.
The HRD minister said the government was in the process of setting up 30 central universities and 14 world-class institutes. He said the Yashpal Committee and the Knowledge Commission had okayed the move to open up the education sector.
Sibal also said a legislative proposal to prohibit certain unfair practices, including misleading advertisements by institutions for attracting or inducing students for taking admission in them, is also under consideration.
Sibal said educational institutions that fail to curb ragging effectively stand to lose their recognition and grants under the new anti-ragging regulations issued by the University Grants Commission and the All-India Council for Techincal Education.
–Agencies