My presentation at a Seminar at the Kerala Club

Friends,

The Kerala Club, New Delhi organized a seminar on “Planning Higher education in Kerala 2014-2020: Challenges and Possibilities” as part of their celebrations of  the 75^th Anniversary on March 16, 2014. The speakers included Shri. T.K.A. Nair, Adviser to the PM, Prof. N.R.Madhava Menon, Prof. V.N.Rajasekharan Pillai, Prof. Jayakrishnan and Prof. Meenakshi Gopinath.

The other speakers described the higher education scene in Kerala graphically and suggested remedies and I tried to showcase the efforts being made by the Government and the KSHEC to bring about change. My speaking notes are circulated herewith for your information and comments.

Sincerely,

TPS

Mr. Chairman,

The President and other leaders of the Kerala Club,

Mr.T.K.A.Nair,

Prof. N.R.Madhava Menon,

Distinguished speakers and participants,

I am grateful to the Kerala Club for inviting me to this timely Seminar on Higher Education in Kerala. I have happy memories of my days in the Kerala Club in Connaught Place in the late sixties when I met people like O.V.Vijayan, Kakkanadan, IKKM, M.P.Narayana Pillai and Sethu, who later became celebrated masters of the Delhi genre of Malayalam literature. Omchery was already a big name then and I am glad that he continues to lead the Kerala Club today. I extend my greetings and best wishes to the Kerala Club on the occasion of its Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.

I am glad that my turn to speak has come in the second half of the Seminar as it gave me an opportunity to reflect over the presentations of the earlier speakers. What occurred to me when I heard those statements was the saying about India that whatever you say about India, its opposite is also true. The same is the case with higher education in Kerala. Prof. N.R.Madhava Menon’s contention that we need more universities in Kerala and Shri.T.K.A. Nair’s apprehension that more institutions are not the answer are both valid. Whether we go by the cynical comments of Dr.Jayakrishnan or the optimistic and poetic assessment of Prof. Meenakshi Gopinath, the higher education scene in Kerala has both good and bad points. It is true that many of our graduates are weak, compared to those from the better universities outside the state. But it is also true that three of our graduates occupied the three top positions in the Civil Services examination last year. Our accomplishments in higher education are not insignificant, but we need to strive more for excellence.

I take it that I have been included in this session on financing development of higher education since RUSA envisages that the Higher Education Councils will be entrusted with funding of higher education in the future, together with planning and monitoring responsibilities. But as it happens, funding of education is one area in which I have gained no experience in the last two years that I have been the Vice-Chairman of the Council. It is only a few days ago that the Government authorized us to open a joint account with the Government to receive RUSA funds and to begin setting up a Technical Support Group. Although the Chief Minister of Kerala is of the view that RUSA should be implemented strictly as envisaged by the MHRD, the process of empowering the Council to implement RUSA has been painfully slow and I have no hands-on experience to share as yet.

Although RUSA marks a paradigm shift in funding state educational institutions, I anticipate some problems in its implementation. Higher Education Councils have not been recognized as bodies capable of planning, funding and monitoring higher education, even in states like Kerala, which has had an active Council since 2007. At best, the Council is treated as a think tank or a sounding board and at worst as a sinecure for sectarian political nominees. The relevant departments of the Government and the Planning Board call the shots and universities and colleges regard the Council as an unnecessary distraction, except as a source of scholarships and minor contributions for seminars and the erudite programme. The philosophy of RUSA that higher education should be entrusted to an academic body like the Council cannot be accomplished without political will and relaxation of bureaucratic controls.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the states have to find 35% of the RUSA resources. The state machinery will be wary of the Council drawing up ambitious programmes as every rupee that is spent on RUSA, 35 paise should come from the state treasury. Moreover, the aided colleges, which make the bulk of the educational institutions in Kerala, will have to find 50% of the allocations made to them by RUSA. The present system of haphazard funding from multiple sources with little accountability will be preferable from the point of view of individual institutions. I have inaugurated many “national” and “international” seminars on esoteric subjects, held simply because a grant was received from one source or another. They become “national” with an odd participant from Chennai and they become “international” by the participation of a Sri Lankan scholar. Money is spent on ceremonies, flowers wrapped in plastic sheets and wooden or plastic souvenirs and even flex boards. The strict performance criteria of RUSA will be a disincentive to many institutions. A complete transformation of the mindset will be imperative. And mindsets, as you know, are not easily susceptible to change.

We can curse the darkness in many ways, but the efforts to light a candle to remove the darkness should also be noted. We have not removed the darkness as yet, but the Government of Kerala and the Kerala State Higher Education Council have not been idle. We started working from day one on a blue print for designing what we called a “Higher Education 2.0”, bearing in mind that fundamental changes are necessary in six areas we identified as crucial--- infrastructure, use of technology, teachers training, research, autonomy and internationalization. We set up groups of eminent experts on each of these areas and developed plans, which were submitted to the Government. These were not mere recommendations, but schemes ready for implementation. A Kerala State Accreditation and Assessment Council, a first of its kind in India, a Faculty Training Academy, a plan to link universities with industries, a new higher education policy with concrete suggestions for enhancing expansion, equity, excellence and employability, a plan for autonomous colleges and a scheme to improve the working of the administrative staff have been submitted. Initial funding was allocated in certain cases, but they are stuck somewhere in the labyrinths of political and bureaucratic decision making. A report on reform of statutes of universities is unfortunately mired in a controversy on the qualifications of Vice-Chancellors.

Concretely, we have made advances in attracting foreign students to Kerala, developing cluster colleges, creating awareness of MOOCS and Flip Schools, TED talks and other tools for using technology, recommended honours courses in selected subjects and we have been running training programmes for young teachers and administrative staff. Seminars and conferences, including two international consultations on quality and transnational education have been held. Our monthly lectures focus on a wide variety of topics of current interest. Sage has just published the first issue of a high quality academic journal, ‘Education for the Future’. We are presently studying issues relating to Arabic studies, foreign travel of teachers and possibility of setting up a University for Police Studies and Forensic Sciences. An area of concern we need to address urgently is the creeping elimination of English as the medium of instruction at the university level. A conference of foreign students in Kerala brought out the fact that much of the instruction is given in Malayalam, leaving these students in the lurch. In a situation where most of our young people have to live outside the state, the neglect of English will severely damage their prospects for employment. The Council is also looking at ways and means of incentivizing teachers, who put in their best.

The Higher education Department runs its own imaginative schemes for skills development, teachers training etc, in addition to their traditional role in nurturing higher education.

In other words, though we have not been able to submit our perspective plan because of the problems enumerated earlier, I dare say that we are more prepared to utilize RUSA funds than any other state in the country. But from a point of elation about the recognition of our work we received initially, we have entered a phase of frustration on account of delays and hurdles. We see a ray of hope in the small beginning we have made in implementing RUSA, but much more needs to be done to make the Higher Education Council an instrument of change.

Apart from RUSA, financing of higher education has to come from private sources. The self-financing colleges were instrumental in increasing the number of engineering colleges in Kerala. Some of these colleges can match the best institutions in India in terms of quality. A Commission led by Mr. Narayana Murthy has established that at least half of the outlay in education should come from private sources. We have identified the ways and means to accomplish this, but the most effective way for higher education to grow is by having private universities. The policy of the Government, however, continues to be not to permit private universities in Kerala.

I apologize if my presentation sounded like a commercial for the Higher Education Council. I was merely trying to show that we are striving to change the higher education scene in Kerala. Change will be slow in coming in Kerala because of the cynicism that has crept into the Kerala psyche. Corruption, mediocrity, sectarianism, lethargy and lack of efficiency are not just tolerated, but also considered part of our system. Higher education sector is no exception to this general environment. But dream we must of good infrastructure, efficient use of technology, committed teachers, purposeful research, increased autonomy and international linkages, in short, world class education. We hope and expect that the Higher Education Council, which is presently a dream factory at best, will turn into a dynamo for true reform in higher education in Kerala.

Thank you.

Jagat Mehta: A Diplomat Ahead of his Times

A diplomat ahead of his times

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Last updated on: March 10, 2014 16:04 IST

'His negotiations with Idi Amin and his men for compensation for the Indians, who left Uganda, were particularly tough. Apparently, Amin warned him that the body of the British negotiator, who came earlier, was found in a roadside gutter...'

'As Jagat Mehta''s special assistant during the last two years of his tenure as foreign secretary, I saw for myself how his conviction, courage and patriotism enabled him to fight against heavy odds,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

Former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Mehta, 92, who breathed his last this week in Udaipur, had a meteoric rise in the Foreign Service because of his intellectual prowess and strategic thinking. But he proved too much ahead of his times to complete his tenure at the helm of the service.

'Much maligned', 'much misunderstood' and 'more sinned against than sinning' are some apt descriptions of Jagat Mehta.

For a diplomat and statesman, who made an immense contribution to foreign policy right from the time of Pandit Nehru in 1947 to Charan Singh in 1979 in various capacities in the service and later as a thinker and writer, the entry on him in Wikipedia is a meagre paragraph, which does no justice to his illustrious career.

He is described as an Indian 'politician and diplomat' who was Foreign Secretary from 1976 to 1979. His postings to China as charge d'affaires (1963 to 1966) and Tanzania as high commissioner (1970 to 1974), his books and Padma Bhushan award (2002) are mentioned.

"I am not an exportable commodity," Jagat Mehta used to quip when asked about his only ambassadorial assignment to Tanzania. The fact is that he had made himself indispensable in the ministry as a foreign policy thinker and negotiator.

He used to recall how he was the only under secretary in the ministry of external affairs, reported to Pandit Nehru and stayed in the same house he occupied later as the foreign secretary.

He turned his innocuous posting to Tanzania into a major listening post in Africa and won the hearts of the Africans and the Indians in East Africa. Policy makers should reread one of his dispatches on the creeping Chinese influence in Africa to understand Chinese methods today.

It seems the Tanzanians realised the size of the Chinese hordes, which had arrived only when they saw the quantity of noodles being imported into the country.

Jagat Mehta returned to the ministry as joint secretary and was soon appointed by Indira Gandhi as foreign secretary, overlooking the claims of some of his seniors. He was considered Indira's blue-eyed boy during her term, even through the first nuclear tests, the emergency and her defeat in the elections in 1977.

The change of government gave Mehta an opportunity to shape the Janata Party's foreign policy through 'genuine nonalignment'. Morarji Desai and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were inclined to accept his suggestions to improve relations with the US, China and Pakistan, while maintaining good relations with the Soviet Union.

He also recommended some changes in nuances of our nuclear policy by entering into a dialogue with the US. The initiatives such as Morarji Desai's visit to the US and Vajpayee's visit to China were results of his prodding the Janata government to bring in subtle changes in foreign policy.

These initiatives, meticulously analysed and formulated for the political leadership, turned out to be too much ahead of the times and, therefore, did not make much headway and eventually led to Jagat Mehta's downfall.

The country was in too cozy an embrace with the Soviet Union to think in terms of diversifying its relations and the Janata government was particularly suspect on this matter.

The US initiative and signals of change in nuclear policy ended in a fiasco when President Carter cut short his visit and returned after a disastrous conversation with Morarji Desai.

Vajpayee's China visit turned sour when China invaded Vietnam even when he was on Chinese soil. Many in the Congress party and the Soviet lobby sharpened their attack on Janata foreign policy and focused on Jagat Mehta as its architect.

India's decision not to recognise the Vietnam backed Kampuchea provoked the Soviet Union itself. Eventually, it was the Charan Singh government, which decided to appoint another foreign secretary even when Jagat Mehta had several months to go before his retirement.

Prime Minister Charan Singh explained that the change was necessary because Mehta had brought in changes in the US, China and Pakistan policies against the interests of the country.

A posting abroad was offered to him, but Indira Gandhi withdrew even that when she returned to power in 1980. But Mehta stayed on with the government till his retirement, doing various diplomatic errands.

As Jagat Mehta's special assistant during the last two years of his tenure as foreign secretary, I saw for myself how his conviction, courage and patriotism enabled him to fight against heavy odds.

A particularly painful experience for this veteran diplomat was the accusation that he had hurt India's prestige at the Lusaka Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM, by promoting his own candidature as the secretary general of the Commonwealth.

I know for certain that it was the inept handling of the issue at the political level that led to the fiasco. Mehta took the moral responsibility on himself and submitted his resignation, but instead of letting him leave, he was kept on and later dismissed, partly on account of the Lusaka incident.

The government did not even inform him of the impending change till a few days before the new foreign secretary arrived to take over. None of these discourtesies provoked him and he countered my advice to react by asserting that he was a disciplined soldier.

Honest and upright, he met allegations and accusations in good humour, considering himself above suspicion.

Jagat Mehta was a perfectionist and kept revising his notes and speeches incessantly. In the pre-computer age, this meant typing and retyping papers by an army of stenographers, which I kept correcting before submission to him.

I remember counting more than fifty versions of the toast that Vajpayee was supposed to deliver in Beijing. The joke about him was that when someone went to him and said that he should look at a speech that was to be delivered that day, he said, "What do you mean? I need to finish yesterday's speech first!"

Jagat Mehta has recounted a number of the tough negotiations he was involved in, particularly with the Chinese on many issues, including the border. He had the habit of recording the minute details of these negotiations, just as he recorded the reasons for each of his decisions on every file.

His negotiations with Idi Amin and his men for compensation for the Indians, who left Uganda, were particularly tough. Apparently, Amin warned him that the body of the British negotiator, who came earlier, was found in a roadside gutter.

But Mehta managed to leave Uganda in one piece after getting a sizeable compensation by negotiating each case separately. I saw how he handled Soviet diplomats during Morarji Desai's visit to Moscow when it became difficult to find a compromise on a reference to the Indo-Soviet Treaty in the Joint Statement.

It is to Jagat Mehta's credit that he was fully vindicated, when India pursued subsequently the same policies he had advocated towards the US, China and Pakistan. He had even anticipated the understanding we reached with the Americans on nuclear issues in 2005 by signaling that we would be flexible on non-proliferation.

Vajpayee, as prime minister, made amends for the injustice done to him by seeking his advice and conferring the Padma Bhushan on him.

Apart from his policy frustrations, it pained Jagat Mehta that many of his colleagues in the foreign service were extremely critical of some of his administrative decisions, even though they were taken in the best interest of the service.

His exhortation to women officers to accept difficult postings caused a virtual revolt and resulted even in a court case. When he sought to expand the IFS, ulterior motives were attributed to him.

If only he was allowed to expand the service at that time, we would not have faced the acute shortage of officers in later years. None of these caused any rancor in him as his mind was constantly focused on India and its future.

What he lamented in one of his last books was not his personal frustrations, but The Tryst Betrayed.

Jagat Mehta's lasting legacy will be his intellectual contribution to the making of foreign policy and his humanism as exemplified in his social work in Rajasthan in the evening of his life.

Buy Jagat Mehta's The Tryst Betrayed at Rediff Shopping!

For earlier columns by Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, please click here.

T P Sreenivasan

Jagat Mehta: A Diplomat Ahead of his Times

Nikhil Kumar: A People’s Governor

By T.P.Sreenivasan

“It is lonely up there”, say many who occupy high positions in the government and in business, not because it is inevitable to be lonely, but since they consider it an attribute of accomplishment and glory. There are several noble exceptions and the super cop turned Governor Nikhil Kumar who has just resigned to return to active politics is one of them. In a short time, he became a Governor Extraordinary and merged with the Kerala scene and people with ease and dignity, a true “People’s Governor”. 

Strict adherents to protocol, who keep Governors in golden cages, were aghast when he stayed on to chat with people even after the National Anthem was played at official events. A Governor, who answered personal emails and engaged in meaningful conversations with visitors made his minders uncomfortable at times. They may have been nervous when he departed from prepared texts and spoke extempore on important subjects, in his own inimitable style. But Kerala will remember him for his easy style, his deep and sympathetic involvement in all aspects of the life in the state and his ability to communicate with ordinary people.

A quick learner, Nikhil Kumar grasped the intricacies of Kerala politics very quickly and without causing any controversy, encouraged a healing process among warring factions. His interventions were gentle, unbiased and principled, without seeking publicity or reward. To stay in Kerala and lead an active life even for a short while without being dragged into controversies is no easy task.

Nikhil Kumar’s classy, but simple style could not be missed. In an elegant white kurta and black waistcoat, he was the picture of simplicity, but his tall frame carried it with poise. The Raj Bhavan itself was transformed in no time. Simple and elegant white sofas replaced the heavy furniture and valuable object d’art, perhaps from his personal collection, appeared. New paintings, some of them gifted by a former Chief Secretary, adorned the walls. He pointed to a prominent empty space on the wall and asked me: “Don’t you think that this is the right place for a portrait of Sree Chithira Thirunal Maharaja?” I promised to get him one and he did not forget to follow up my offer till it was fulfilled.

The way Nikhil Kumar transformed the routine, short and strictly formal “At Home” on National Days into memorable affairs was truly amazing. Earlier, the drill was for the guests to arrive at 630 PM, the Governor to arrive at 7 PM and depart at 730 PM and the guests to depart afterwards after a cup of tea or coffee. The Governor and the Ministers were seated in a pavilion and those who considered themselves important crowded around them. The new Governor made it into a reception in the true sense, with himself and family circulating among guests and talking to them. The Ministers were also compelled to move around rather than sit in splendid isolation in a designated area. The décor and the food became better and the change in ambience made a huge difference in terms of participation and a feeling of equality.

Education was a passion for the Governor, as I discovered on my first courtesy call and he was full of ideas he shared with me and encouraged me to try them out. Instead of formal inaugurations, he preferred to talk to academic groups in an intimate atmosphere. When a number of Keralites made it to the top levels of the Civil Services, he organized a special event at the Raj Bhavan and engaged in a dialogue with them on the role and duties of civil servants. He volunteered to be at the concluding session of an International Conference on Education to participate in formulating the conclusions, though the visit of the Prime Minister on that very day upset those plans. I was astonished when he gave me his personal email ID to remain in touch, but I was even more surprised when I got detailed replies to my messages overnight. A Governor who replied to emails and spoke without a text on any subject was a marvel in Kerala.

One area in which he was particularly interested was the role of the Governor as Chancellor of the Universities in Kerala. Even though he did not spell out his ideas on the subject, he collected the views of the educationists in Kerala and participated in the national debate. While the Governor has the obligation to heed the advice of the Council of Ministers on matters relating to the state, he has no such obligation with regard to his role as the Chancellor. His decisions as the Chancellor reflected this conviction at every stage, much to the chagrin of the Government itself. Some of the issues that he had to tackle were actually created by pliable Chancellors, who saw their role as supportive of the Government. Nikhil Kumar made several interventions, some of them not known widely, to rectify the situation.

Governor Nikhil Kumar was a great believer in public debate on crucial issues. He did not turn down requests for participation in such debates. He also quietly encouraged debates on national and international issues and invited his friends in other states to join think tanks in Kerala to organize these debates. The foreign affairs think tank in Kerala, the Kerala International Centre, benefitted immensely from his advice. If he had continued as Governor, the intellectual life of Kerala would have would have been further enriched.

Kerala’s loss may well be the gain of national politics, which is not new ground for Nikhil Kumar. Returning to electoral politics in these uncertain times is indicative of his commitment to the democratic process and his willingness to contribute to it. He will carry with him the good wishes of the people of Kerala, whom he has served well as their Governor.

Nikhil Kumar: A People's Governor

 Nikhil Kumar: A People’s Governor

By T.P.Sreenivasan

“It is lonely up there”, say many who occupy high positions in the government and in business, not because it is inevitable to be lonely, but since they consider it an attribute of accomplishment and glory. There are several noble exceptions and the super cop turned Governor Nikhil Kumar who has just resigned to return to active politics is one of them. In a short time, he became a Governor Extraordinary and merged with the Kerala scene and people with ease and dignity, a true “People’s Governor”. 

Strict adherents to protocol, who keep Governors in golden cages, were aghast when he stayed on to chat with people even after the National Anthem was played at official events. A Governor, who answered personal emails and engaged in meaningful conversations with visitors made his minders uncomfortable at times. They may have been nervous when he departed from prepared texts and spoke extempore on important subjects, in his own inimitable style. But Kerala will remember him for his easy style, his deep and sympathetic involvement in all aspects of the life in the state and his ability to communicate with ordinary people.

A quick learner, Nikhil Kumar grasped the intricacies of Kerala politics very quickly and without causing any controversy, encouraged a healing process among warring factions. His interventions were gentle, unbiased and principled, without seeking publicity or reward. To stay in Kerala and lead an active life even for a short while without being dragged into controversies is no easy task.

Nikhil Kumar’s classy, but simple style could not be missed. In an elegant white kurta and black waistcoat, he was the picture of simplicity, but his tall frame carried it with poise. The Raj Bhavan itself was transformed in no time. Simple and elegant white sofas replaced the heavy furniture and valuable object d’art, perhaps from his personal collection, appeared. New paintings, some of them gifted by a former Chief Secretary, adorned the walls. He pointed to a prominent empty space on the wall and asked me: “Don’t you think that this is the right place for a portrait of Sree Chithira Thirunal Maharaja?” I promised to get him one and he did not forget to follow up my offer till it was fulfilled.

The way Nikhil Kumar transformed the routine, short and strictly formal “At Home” on National Days into memorable affairs was truly amazing. Earlier, the drill was for the guests to arrive at 630 PM, the Governor to arrive at 7 PM and depart at 730 PM and the guests to depart afterwards after a cup of tea or coffee. The Governor and the Ministers were seated in a pavilion and those who considered themselves important crowded around them. The new Governor made it into a reception in the true sense, with himself and family circulating among guests and talking to them. The Ministers were also compelled to move around rather than sit in splendid isolation in a designated area. The décor and the food became better and the change in ambience made a huge difference in terms of participation and a feeling of equality.

Education was a passion for the Governor, as I discovered on my first courtesy call and he was full of ideas he shared with me and encouraged me to try them out. Instead of formal inaugurations, he preferred to talk to academic groups in an intimate atmosphere. When a number of Keralites made it to the top levels of the Civil Services, he organized a special event at the Raj Bhavan and engaged in a dialogue with them on the role and duties of civil servants. He volunteered to be at the concluding session of an International Conference on Education to participate in formulating the conclusions, though the visit of the Prime Minister on that very day upset those plans. I was astonished when he gave me his personal email ID to remain in touch, but I was even more surprised when I got detailed replies to my messages overnight. A Governor who replied to emails and spoke without a text on any subject was a marvel in Kerala.

One area in which he was particularly interested was the role of the Governor as Chancellor of the Universities in Kerala. Even though he did not spell out his ideas on the subject, he collected the views of the educationists in Kerala and participated in the national debate. While the Governor has the obligation to heed the advice of the Council of Ministers on matters relating to the state, he has no such obligation with regard to his role as the Chancellor. His decisions as the Chancellor reflected this conviction at every stage, much to the chagrin of the Government itself. Some of the issues that he had to tackle were actually created by pliable Chancellors, who saw their role as supportive of the Government. Nikhil Kumar made several interventions, some of them not known widely, to rectify the situation.

Governor Nikhil Kumar was a great believer in public debate on crucial issues. He did not turn down requests for participation in such debates. He also quietly encouraged debates on national and international issues and invited his friends in other states to join think tanks in Kerala to organize these debates. The foreign affairs think tank in Kerala, the Kerala International Centre, benefitted immensely from his advice. If he had continued as Governor, the intellectual life of Kerala would have would have been further enriched.

Kerala’s loss may well be the gain of national politics, which is not new ground for Nikhil Kumar. Returning to electoral politics in these uncertain times is indicative of his commitment to the democratic process and his willingness to contribute to it. He will carry with him the good wishes of the people of Kerala, whom he has served well as their Governor.