‘The humbug, the waste and the plain stupidity that constitute a distressingly large part of our educational scene today’. This is the basic theme of this provocative collection of essays. Though they relate mostly to higher education, Professor V.V John also makes trenchant comments throughout this book on the dichotomy that still prevails on educational policy and perspectives as a whole. Professor John is a distinguished academician, renowned for his progressive views articulated in many public forums with wit, wisdom and sincerity. This volume constitutes an important document on a subject of vital importance.
No one is satisfied with India’s educational system, least of all parents and students. Since Independence a multitude of Commissions and Committees have been set up on the problems of rural education, women’s education, physical education, moral and religious education, emotional integration, national service, the state of Sanskrit studies, the position of Urdu, the financing of three-year degree courses, standards of higher education, and the condition of our libraries. We have even had a committee that toured the country extensively ‘to look into the causes for the lack of public support, particularly in rural areas, for girls’ education, and to enlist public cooperation’, and 14 very important National Commissions since 1947 ostensibly to find satisfactory solutions.