BJP replicates Knowledge Commission in Karnataka The Sam Pirtoda-headed National Knowledge Commission (nkc) may have had many run-ins with different arms of the upa government but the good work done by it has finally earned it cross-party recognition. The Bjp-led government in Karnataka recently launched a state panel modelled on the nkc to promote higher education in the state. The Karnataka Knowledge Commission, to be headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Kasturirangan, is the first state-specific panel of its kind. The central leadership of the bjp too has already hinted its support to the concept of an independent education policy adviser. "Otherwise there is no way that B.S. Yeddyurappa would have moved ahead with the idea," source in the party said. Nearer home, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has extended the life of the nkc in an indication that the panel set up as a one-time initiative could enjoy a long-term role in India's education policy framework. The three-year term of the commission was to end on 2 October, but it has been extended by six months till April 2009. The commission, announced in July 2005, started functioning on 3 October that year with the mandate that it should prepare a blueprint to turn the country from an emerging education power to a 'knowledge economy.' The twin developments imply that the concept of the nkc will enjoy broad-based political support, irrespective of who comes back to power. The commission comes directly under the pmo and answers to the prime minister, not to the human resource development ministry that runs education in the country. That is perhaps one of the reasons why it has run foul of the hrd ministry or the bodies controlled by it over the past three years. The panel has implicitly -and on occasions explicitly - accused the ministry of not doing enough to promote autonomy of institutions of higher learning such as central universities and the iits. The latest spat between the nkc and the University Grants Commission is over the world-class universities that the government is setting up. The nkc has called for revision of the concept note put up by the ucc, and trashed its suggestions about the curriculum, faculty, fee, governance and management. While the ugc has suggested that the draft legislation be called the World Class University System Act - indicating that it is not about one such university but a cluster of universities which form a system - the nkc wants to call it the National Universities System Act, implying that all universities need to be upgraded to world class at some point of time. A major area of contention is fee. While the ugc believes it should have the last word on the quantum of fee to be fixed, the nkc wants this to be left to the universities, which should tap other sources for generating funds such as industry collaborations, overseas operations and innovative use of alumni networks and university facilities. Impressive performance To address the concern that autonomy would make the world class universities inaccessible to the disadvantaged, the nkc has suggested a 'needs-blind admission' policy which will ensure that an applicant's ability or inability to pay fee will not influence the admission decision. Unfazed by these spats, the pmo believes that the performance of the commission has been impressive, and there is a need for such a body in the administration of the education policy framework in the future, too. Indeed, it is because of the pmo's support that the Centre has accepted key proposals of the commission and they are at different stages of implementation. These include the proposal for an unprecedented thrust to skill-based vocational education has resulted in the Centre announcing plans to launch a massive skill development mission that Manmohan Singh will head. The government has also accepted its proposal to revive libraries across the country and link them through the Internet to allow access to documents and books at any library from any other. The proposal for a national knowledge network linking all higher educational institutions through high-speed Internet is in the process of implementation.