Several education bills pending due to oppostion's non-cooperation: Sibal

Updated on: Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hitting out at the opposition, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said 13 Bills on higher education could not be passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament due to disruptions, which amounted to "punishing" the students.

The Bills included those relating to awarding degrees to pass-out students like the NIT Bill and the IIIT D&M Kancheepuram Bill and "yet the opposition did not allow them to be passed", he said.

"They (MPs) stalled the House for two days. Why should the students in India be punished because of politics in education," Sibal wondered interacting with students of St Stephens College here.

The Ministry is now planning to bring an ordinance to ensure award of degrees following non-passage of these bills.

Sibal, who faced a major embarrassment in the Monsoon session last year over the non-passage of the Tribunals Bill, said the bill was not even "allowed to be placed in this session" in the Rajya Sabha as the opposition has a majority in the House.

"The point is we are doing a lot but unfortunately the political spectrum is such, there is no element of corroboration looking at the national interest," he said.

The Minister felt the Opposition is only interested in talking about Commonwealth Games and other issues but even then they "do not allow the ruling party to speak" and "create a ruckus in the House".

"So, how will the country function like this? We need to rise above some of these issues and move forward," he said.

The Minister, however, rejected suggestion that educational qualification should be a criteria for people entering politics, saying such a criteria will deprived section who cannot afford schooling from contesting elections.

Several education bills pending due to oppostion's non-cooperation: Sibal

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