‘Poor results in education due to political interference’

The five-member committee, headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian, has said in its report that political intervention from all levels is all pervasive in selecting location of institutions, approval of grant-in-aid status, selection of examination centres and in all senior appointments and in many states from VC to college Principals to District Education Officers.

The committee, set up to give suggestions for the New Education Policy (NEP), also said that it is "undeniable" that there is large scale corruption in appointments, transfers, approval to affiliate and grant recognition of institutions, even going to the extent of manipulation of exam results.

It said that during meetings with national educational institutions at Delhi or informal contacts with state officials across India, the single most important reason mentioned by all respondents was "political interference".

The panel observed that when national accrediting agencies were asked to explain why undeserving educational institutions often received rapid accreditation, while 'more qualified' institutions waited for long periods, the answer almost invariably would relate to political interference.

"The committee cannot ignore this repeated assertion brought to its attention in different forms in diverse circumstances the clear conclusion is that 'political interference' is almost certainly the most important reason for poor outcomes," said the report submitted to the government.