Former BJP president and Union Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi expressed his anguish over the BJP governance at the Centre, particularly over the state of education, questioning the government’s laxity in developing the system while voicing against cutting the education Budget, the closure of government schools, the promotion of private education and the recurring incidents of paper leaks and corruption.
In an interview with Hindi daily Amar Ujala, Joshi, one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior-most leaders, lashed out at the government’s lax approach towards the education system amid mass student protests over examination paper leaks, poor educational facilities and the lack of a clear vision to create employment and educational opportunities.
Joshi, who was the Union human resource development minister under the Vajpayee government, was distanced from active politics after being moved to the BJP’s Margdarshak Mandal, following Narendra Modi’s assumption of power in 2014, and suggested that the recurring paper leak issues should not be seen merely as a failure of the examination system, but rather be linked to the broader corruption that has permeated society and governance.
Pertaining to the prevalent situation, he held the government responsible for the failure, commenting, “When people witness money and corruption dominating every sphere, they too begin to adopt the wrong path.”
Joshi linked the repeated occurrences of paper leaks to the weakening of foundational principles, which was not the case during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, and questioned, “Why did the phenomenon of repeated paper leaks not occur during Vajpayee-ji’s time?”
He also drew attention to the widening disconnect between education and employment, while pointing to highly qualified graduates working in low-paid and contractual jobs, and said education must be made economically productive, asking, “If education does not yield economic returns, what value does it hold?”
Joshi challenged the government’s claim of establishing more colleges without a corresponding strategy to create more employment and argued that inadequate opportunities would draw young people towards the few secure avenues available, particularly government employment.
On the education Budget, Joshi said allocations for education, primary education, and healthcare had been declining while expenditure on roads and road transport had increased, arguing that development could not be measured merely by the construction of roads and infrastructure without creating the educational and human resources required to sustain them.
Joshi, who is highly critical of the growing privatisation of the educational sector, advocated a uniform school system to ensure equality and argued that education should not become a profit-making enterprise, suggesting that any profits generated by educational institutions, he said, should be reinvested in education.
Questioning the closure of government schools, he said declining enrolment should not be used as an excuse to shut institutions without examining why the number of students had fallen in the first place. Instead, the government should improve infrastructure and appoint teachers.
Joshi also questioned the meaning of the government’s slogan ‘Viksit Bharat’, arguing that development must be defined not merely through material and economic indicators but through human values.