World Bank officials from the United States have flown to the Indian state of Jharkhand for a brainstorming session, scheduled for tomorrow with Indian academics and bureaucrats. The purpose of this meeting will be to develop a blueprint for improving higher education standards in the state. The Telegraph in Calcutta, India reports:
The high-profile visit is aimed at making liberal learning the bedrock of Jharkhand’s future, a realisation that has dawned on the state higher education department, which has taken the initiative to bring about qualitative change in the state’s academic environment.
The demands of India’s robust economy in the 21st century call for more skilled manpower, which makes imperative an initiative towards improving the country’s education standards. This is the first time the country has solicited help from the World Bank, and it’s now expecting drastic suggestions to implement. Mridula Sinha, Jharkhand’s HRD department principal secretary, described the World Bank as being “roped in to bring about catalytic changes” that they will then” take to a logical conclusion.”
This means that tomorrow’s brainstorming session has attracted several leading members of India’s educating class, which might suggest that Jharkhand’s human resources department is being overly optimistic about reaching consensus results in one day. But maybe consensus isn’t really the point. Sinha told the Telegraph that another goal is to convince the shareholders in the higher education sector that drastic changes are necessary. If they meet that goal, it could very well open the coffers for whatever change does come in the future.
