Government plans uniformity in commerce education

 The Union ministry for human resource and development is chalking out a plan to bring uniformity in commerce education across all the schools in the country. “The core curriculum for science is ready and we are now working on developing a common commerce curriculum for all school boards,” said Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal, on the sidelines of the Indo-US summit on higher education in Mumbai.



The HRD ministry is planning to push with a common curriculum on maths and science across schools in the country as well, which will be followed soon by commerce. The ministry hopes to implement the science and maths curriculum from 2011. The Council of School Board of Education (COBSE), the apex body for all school boards and councils in the country, will spearhead the implementation of the common commerce curriculum.



Addressing the three-day summit, organised by the Indo-American Society, the HRD minister re-emphasised on the country’s need to have 800 more universities to take its gross enrolment ratio (GER) to 30% by 2020 from 12.4% at present.



He underlined the fact that Indian students going abroad for education is not a sound economic model, rather bringing education to Indian students is the right way. “Manufacturing and services sector have outsourced for higher output per dollar. Similarly, in education this model can work,” said Mr Sibal.



However, he added that no foreign university will be allowed to take back the profit to their home countries. “I am expecting the Harvards and MITs to do what they do in their home country—put the earning back into the institution and not pass them to shareholders,” said the HRD minister.



The HRD ministry is also planning to give a big push to increase employability in the country by introducing vocational training and education courses right at the higher secondary level in the country.



“We are going to introduce huge range of courses in the 10+2 (higher secondary) level which will be in tandem with the trade that thrives in that locality,” he said. “We will take inputs from the state governments but the standards will be set at the national level.”

SOURCE;ET