Reporters Without Orders Ep 70: Draft National Education Policy, #AligarhMurderCase, Akshaya Patra controversy & more
Jun 12, 2019
49:55
This week, on Reporters Without Orders, Cherry Agarwal sits down with Newslaundry correspondent Ayush Tiwari and Tarun Cherukuri of Indus Action to talk about the draft National Education Policy, Aligarh murder case, Akshaya Patra controversy and more.The episode kicks off with Ayush talking about his experience in Aligarh, a district where a two-and-a-half-year-old was murdered. Ayush talks about the issue's portrayal on social media and how the presence of a “vicious” mob was giving communal undertones to the whole issue. Ayush also weighs in on whether it is right to badger a grieving family into giving a media bite, and talks about how the media's coverage of the case spiked after the initial days. Moving on, the panel talks about the media's coverage of the education sector. Tarun says it is the media's responsibility to inform the society in a “discerning and tactful manner”. He also talks about the need to regulate information in the “post-truth and post-news era”.Tarun also talks about the draft National Education Policy (NEP). He talks about how the report is “ambitious”, but expresses his reservations about it being “translatable"—both administratively and financially. Ayush asks him about the improvements that is needed in the education system. Tarun talks about how the efficacy of a policy is “lost in translation” between “an aspirational policy and the National Curriculum Framework”. Similarly, speaking about the draft NEP, he says, while it looks great on paper, it remains to be seen how the ministries are able to integrate the plan. He appreciates the fact that the draft NEP talks about developing “core aspects” such as “social and emotional wellbeing” rather than being ambitious with the curriculum. The panel also discusses how the three-language issue was unwarranted.Next, the panel discusses the “arbitrary arrests” of social media comments. Ayush speaks about “thought policing” that is emanating from the top brass of the government, while Tarun talks about the responsibility of law enforcers. He adds that a law is as good as the people who can wield it.For all this and a lot more, tune in now!
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