‘Give Nuanced Offering At Undergrad Level Itself’

His eyes, behind rectangular framed lenses, carry a wisdom and calm that find a mirror in his words. Having helmed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) for 10 years, S. Parasuraman says he does not want to be re-elected for a third term. The outgoing director hints that his next mission would be to take on journalism schools in India.

After engineering TISS’s growth in four campuses across the country and actively working with the government towards better service delivery for the poor, Parasuraman talks about the growing demand for development professionals, his experience in working with successive governments and the road ahead for social science education. Excerpts from an interview with Pavithra S. Rangan:

Are humanities and liberal arts education on the decline in India? What is the global experience?

In India, liberal arts and humanities courses are given the least priority in universities. It is increasingly becoming difficult to have sustained growth of these disciplines. Teachers are difficult to come by and students who opt for these courses are few and far between. There has to be a consistent effort by the government to invest in both teachers and humanities education.

Globally, these courses are flourishing in a few leading established universities as they have a strong support base. When you have a nuanced offering where, beginning at the undergraduate level, there is exposure to basic sciences and humanities, it is possible that a larger number of students graduate in these disciplines. But here, we have a problem. The system already prioritises certain courses over others.

Recently, the autonomy of several leading educational institutions in the country, including the IITs and IIMs, has come under threat from the Union HRD ministry. Being funded completely by the government, has TISS faced any such problems?

In most institutions, even today, faculty is elected and their terms of service are decided by the govern­ing council and other bodies of that insti­tution. However, increasingly, the issues that are arising are those pertaining to leadership appointments. It is in electing those who will lead institutions, such as vice-chancellors, where we need a deliberative approach. Else, ideologically motivated individuals may get locked up in these positions.

In such a scenario, our struggle tow­ards strengthening education will have to be diverted to protecting the basic structure of functioning. The problem of appointing leaders is not new. These positions have always been under threat from the influential and financially powerful. We have never given due importance to scholarship in running institutes. Political factors often come to influence leadership in educational institutions. Fortunately, TISS has been an exception and has, so far, been safeguarded from this influence. We now have to be careful in order to ensure that these safeguards are not broken down.

TISS has always followed an action- and intervention-based model of education by partnering with governments on the implementation of various social sector schemes. What has been your experience with successive governments?

We initially began a fellowship with UNICEF where a few very talented, qualified youth, who work in the country’s interiors, were taken in. It received little external support. These fellows were called ‘development facilitators’. Today, this has become a fellowship called the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF). It has now been converted into a three-year MSc in Development Practice and the first batch of 2012 will graduate this year. When the new government came, it meant that this programme had to be reviewed, but thanks to its strengths, it was adopted by this government too. Ten students from the first batch have already been hired by the Andhra Pradesh government. Now different states, like Maharashtra, are starting the CMRDF on similar lines.

We make young people with high level of commitment work with the government, so that they can ensure that programmes are better implemented by involving locals in micro-level planning at the panchayat level. This then has a cascading effect on neighbouring villages.

However, there are challenges that cannot be ignored. While the programme has succeeded in most states, some governments, especially collectors and bureaucrats, do not deploy these youngsters in meaningful work. Also recently, one of our students has filed a case of sexual harassment and the concerned official has been dismissed. I am like a proud father of 300 children, who are working wonders in the most difficult of circumstances. But, as that father, I also spend sleepless nights worrying about their safety.

This government has delinked some centrally sponsored schemes and also reduced funding to several social sector schemes. Will this affect the work that TISS has taken up in several states?

The 14th Finance Commission has ensured greater allocation of funds to states. States now have an option to plan and deploy resources in a better manner. This can ensure that panchayats have a greater role in the planning process. However, the Centre will only succeed in its purpose if it builds the capacity of states to do so. The willingness and ability of states to invest meaningfully is the key challenge. If sufficient capacity is built, it will not affect the functioning of schemes in any manner.

You have always spoken about the need to increase the number of jobs in the social sector. The new government has an industry-friendly image. Are the two compatible?

The lower level bureaucracy in India is ill-equipped and incapable of coping with demands from the society. They lack the skill and training to act as executioners of government schemes. But when the state takes the role of a provider, it becomes essential for them to work with a wide range of capacities. People join at lower levels and consistently acquire promotion, and with them newer responsibilities. But they are not equipped to deal with these news roles. There is, therefore, a huge and critical need to support them. This role can only be filled by those trained in the social sciences and humanities. There is, therefore, a high demand for professionals in the social sector who can work with government functionaries as well as with the people to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability. Neither this government, nor any other government, can afford to neglect this demand. They do not have a choice as they need professionals who can channel government resources efficiently. As I see it, the government has a dearth of ‘development analysts’ who can create capacities among people to work for themselves. The main role of TISS is to produce high-quality professionals who can work with the bureaucracy, non-state actors and people to strengthen service delivery mechanisms at the grassroots.

What are the programmes which TISS and the government are currently focusing on?

We are actively working on the skill development programme, among others. However, this is not because of the change in government. The new government is building on what the previous government had already begun. They have now created a new ministry of skill development to better coordinate skilling efforts. TISS had taken up similar skilling efforts when we first set up our School of Vocational Education. We have identified 26 areas and developed a comprehensive curriculum. The course will ensure that candidates are equipped with act­ive, hands-on experience of what they learn as a part of the module. We had earlier taken it up with the ministry of youth affairs. Now, this effort will be expanded considerably.

We are focusing on skilling four broad groups of individuals: those whose traditional skills are becoming redundant with development; educated youth who are unemployed; self-help groups so that they have the ability to begin enterprises; and capacity building among government employees.

A section of students is disappointed that TISS as an institution has refrai­ned from taking a stand on crucial issues. For instance, RSS think-tanks have not been banned from campus placements.

Anyone who says TISS does not take a stand simply doesn’t know anything about the institution. We have taken a stand on everything, from Right to Education to Right to Food. We produce social activists and a take on fundamental issues of people that undermine people’s rights. We take a stand on issues that involve people’s welfare and security. We banned Nestle from recruiting students through campus placement because they were marketing milk powder for babies and spreading misinformation about breast milk. We took a stand that they were ‘baby killers’. We also banned Vedanta from our campus placements as they were compromising on human rights. Issues that institutions take a stand on have to be scientific, backed by facts and have proof. We cannot make every individual’s stand an institution’s stand and take note of issues that have no relevance.

TISS has been mired in controversies pertaining to cuts in funding, faculty appointments....

The media has reported widely that there was to be a review report about the status of programmes in TISS. However, this report was delayed and hence there was also a delay in the allotment of funds from the government. The flow of funds has now been resumed. And the opposition in TISS from a minority stems from individual inefficiencies and grievances for which an institution cannot be held responsible. This distinction has to be made and understood.