In an apparent attempt to capitalise on nationalist sentiments, Punjab will soon provide compulsory National Cadet Corps (NCC) training to students at all government schools and colleges in areas close to the international border with Pakistan. Congress’s chief minister Amarinder Singh, himself a former armyman, reportedly took the decision to make the youth employable in the armed forces and inculcate a strong sense of discipline in them. Gradually, the training would be made compulsory at all schools in the state. Now, NCC can be a route to an armed forces career. But making goose stepping compulsory in schools and colleges isn’t really necessary for this, when the NCC option exists for all those interested anyway.
Not that students can’t use the exercise. Better to be doing drills and putting on nifty NCC uniforms than loafing around during sports periods. But making NCC compulsory will ensure that the loafing is done during NCC training with disinterested students going through the motions. The question that arises then is if the extra effort is truly worth it. Wouldn’t it be better to devote the time and energy to improving quality of education in classrooms? After all, “New India” does need to create a human resource base for a future driven by artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution, for which we need to foster creativity in our education system. That comes only with choice and autonomy, not with compulsion and drilling.
A command and control mindset certainly isn’t helpful for education and leads to short-sighted policies like Delhi government’s installing of CCTV cameras in schools. But perhaps the Congress government in Punjab is simply setting its sights on nationalism as a political tool with its NCC move. That begs the question: Is Congress the new BJP?