The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 13th May 2025 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

The educational landscape, its disconcerting shift

Why in News?

 Institutions that were once praised for encouraging independent thinking are now dealing with bureaucratic controls, outside rules, and ideological restrictions. 

Introduction

Education has always been seen as the foundation of societal progress — a space where critical thinking, free inquiry, and the quest for knowledge could thrive. At its best, higher education promoted intellectual independence, encouraged dissent, and sparked advancement in various fields and societies. The limits of human understanding were constantly expanded through open discussions and academic exploration. However, in recent decades, universities have shifted from promoting independent thought to being constrained by bureaucratic controls, external mandates, and ideological restrictions. H.A. Giroux argues that universities now prioritize conformity, managerial efficiency, and market alignment over academic freedom and intellectual integrity.

Indoctrination, intimidation, and intolerance have taken center stage in education.

Centralization of Academic Curricula

• Loss of University Autonomy: In the past, universities had the freedom to design syllabi based on student needs, faculty expertise, and the evolving nature of intellectual inquiry. Today, that independence is diminishing.
• Government Influence: Agencies like the UGC and policies such as the NEP now dictate the structure and content of academic programs, often driven by economic agendas or partisan interests, rather than academic merit or pedagogical philosophy.
• Instrument of Control: Originally designed to coordinate academic standards, the UGC now interferes in faculty appointments, administration, and curriculum development, often disregarding academic judgment.
• Erosion of Autonomy: The UGC has replaced self-governance with bureaucratic control, limiting faculty selection, research direction, and protection of dissent, ultimately stripping universities of their independence.
• Monolithic Intellectual Ecosystem: Standardized syllabi across institutions stifle intellectual diversity, creating a uniform, regimented discourse.
• Suppressed Creativity: The focus on conformity discourages critical thinking, alternative perspectives, and innovation, undermining the very essence of academic inquiry.

Pressures on the Academic Climate

• Role of Campuses in Social Change: Historically, campuses have been pivotal in movements like anti-colonial, civil rights, and pro-democracy uprisings.
• Control Over Education: Policymakers and administrators manage curricula to ensure universities remain compliant, preventing challenges to the status quo.
• Suppression of Critical Perspectives: Suppressing critical viewpoints prevents higher education from nurturing citizens who question authority or consider alternatives.
• Example of State Interference:. student discussing Noam Chomsky’s ideas on democracy or nationalism risks reprimand, illustrating excessive government intervention.
• Impact of Reactionary Politics: Resurgence of reactionary politics leads to more interference in academia, marginalising those critiquing injustice, exploitation, and nationalism.
• Consequences for Scholars: Scholars critical of dominant ideologies are marginalised, defunded, or expelled, and fields like social sciences and humanities face funding cuts.
• Effect on Academic Life: Teachers self-censor due to fear of professional reprisals, while students avoid contentious issues to prevent penalties or career setbacks.
• Resulting Intellectual Climate:. climate of fear stifles intellectual inquiry, where conformity replaces critical thought, leading to the decline of public intellectuals. 

Corporatisation of Higher Education

• Universities are now treated as businesses, focusing on profit and brand enhancement, instead of their role in social advancement and knowledge.
• Impact on Disciplines: Disciplines like technology, business, and engineering receive more support due to financial returns, while fields emphasizing critical thought, like philosophy, are sidelined.
• Marketisation of Education: Education is viewed through a market-driven lens, reducing knowledge to a commodity rather than a pursuit of intellectual value.
• Pressure on Faculty: Faculty are evaluated through performative metrics like publication counts and student ratings, diminishing academic freedom and depth.
• Influence of Global Rankings: Global rankings prioritize adherence to western norms and standardised metrics, neglecting indigenous and context-specific intellectual traditions, fostering conformity. 

Academic Governance as a Concern

• Corporate Influence: University leadership is increasingly composed of administrators from corporate backgrounds, bringing a managerial mindset that prioritizes efficiency, quantifiable outputs, and brand visibility over scholarly rigor and pedagogical depth.
• Impact on Collegial Culture: Appointing Vice Chancellors from non-academic fields undermines the collegial culture, separating decision-making from the realities of teaching and research.
• Lack of Intellectual Engagement: The trend of appointing academics who are disconnected from literature and social issues raises fears of ideological bias influencing leadership choices.
• Need for Rigorous Selection: Universities should prioritize appointments rooted in the intellectual ethos of the liberal arts and sciences, ensuring objective and thorough selection procedures. 

Conclusion

 The crisis in education is fundamentally a crisis of imagination. The university must be protected as a place of intellectual freedom, where merit is not compromised. Failing to do this threatens not just education, but the very concept of democracy. By restoring the true purpose of the university, we revive the transformative power of knowledge, instead of turning it into just a transaction.

India’s rising e-waste, the need to recast its management 

Why is it in the news?

• The focus on the floor price will revolutionize e-waste recycling in India, enhancing management, infrastructure, and sustainability.

Introduction

• India is on the path to becoming a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) through rapid digital transformation, leading to increased reliance on electronic devices.
• The growing use of smartphones, laptops, and various industrial and medical equipment is crucial for economic development, connectivity, and innovation.
• However, this surge in electronic usage also results in a significant amount of electronic waste (e-waste), which necessitates careful management to ensure sustainable progress.
• India is among the top producers of e-waste globally, alongside countries like China, the US, Japan, and Germany.
• The amount of e-waste in India has increased drastically, growing by 151.03% over six years, from 7,08,445 metric tonnes in 2017-18 to 17,78,400 metric tonnes in 2023-24, with an annual increase of 1,69,283 metric tonnes.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

• EPR mandates that producers, importers, and brand owners are responsible for the waste generated from their products at the end of their lifecycle.
• It holds them accountable for the environmental impacts their products cause throughout their entire lifecycle.
• EPR promotes the idea of sustainable design, encouraging producers to consider the environmental costs in the pricing of their products.
• It facilitates effective waste management, alleviating the burden on municipal systems.

Impact of improper e-waste management

Importance of stable pricing

• Introduction of EPR Floor Price: The E-waste (Management) Rules, 2022 introduced a floor price for EPR certificates, which is a game-changer for India's e-waste management system.
• Purpose: This ensures fair returns for registered recyclers, curbing the dominance of informal and hazardous recycling that makes up 95% of the sector.

Economic and Environmental Impact of Floor Price

Counter-Argument: Criticism of Floor Price

Conclusion: Need for a recycling vision

• The EPR floor price is crucial not just for profits, but for protecting rivers, soil, and communities from pollution and toxicity.
• It can help formalize India's e-waste sector, boost infrastructure, and promote resource efficiency.
• As India strives for sustainability leadership, this price is key to transforming e-waste into an opportunity and setting a global standard.
• A 73% rise in e-waste calls for action—an adequate floor price ensures both economic growth and environmental care for a sustainable future.