March 1-3, 2010
Excellence in Education: CALD Forum Discusses
Freedom of Choice
Education is significant for liberals because it enhances
individual liberty and promotes equality of opportunities.
To discuss the need for quality education and hindrances to this,
the Council of Asian Liberals and
Democrats (CALD), with the support of the Friedrich Naumann
Foundation for Liberty, held a conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka
from 1-3 March 2010. Hosted by the Liberal
Party of Sri Lanka, the conference’s aim was to assist
participants in identifying possible and specific policy recommendations
to improve the state of education in their respective countries.
Dr. Wilfrido Villacorta |
The conference began with a general outline of the current problems
in education. Dr. Wilfrido Villacorta, former deputy secretary
general of the
Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, made the argument that the “
worst
roadblock to quality education is the
elitist
mindset that the
poor do not deserve
a
level-playing field.” He discussed how
this needed to be addressed in order to make quality education
for all a reality. Drawing from Dr. Villacorta’s points,
Dr. Parth Shah, president of the
Center
for Civil Society (CCS), said that there should be a shift
from the mindset of “right to education” to “
right
to education of choice.” After identifying the
numerous benefits that can be derived from emphasizing choice,
he proposed measures to promote choice in education like scholarships,
cash vouchers and
conditional cash transfers.
Mr. Barun Mitra |
Linking education with freedom and democracy, Barun Mitra, director
of India’s
Liberty
Institute, talked about the problems emanating from state
intervention in education. He argued that the
resources
of the state should
not be used in providing
education, but the
private sector must be given
free reign to operate in this field. He said that different
interest groups have a tendency of
capturing
state-sponsored education and shaping it according to
their own interests.
The conference also focused on success stories. Mr. Amit Kaushik,
formerly of Shri Educare Ltd., India, talked about CCS’
Pilot Voucher Program and Pratham’s
Annual Status of Education Report
(ASER). Both programs were made possible by strong community
involvement. They have succeeded in creating awareness
and promoting choice.
Mr. Robert Woodthorpe Browne |
Robert Woodthorpe Browne of
Liberal International ended the conference by emphasizing
the importance of the right kind of education in bringing to the
fore the values such as
self-determination, individual
freedom and the ability to question decisions made for
and about them. He also noted the
inefficiencies
that result from
education by indoctrination.
This stunts not only individual development but also
societal
growth.
The conference also marked the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka’s
formal assumption of the chairmanship of CALD.
