State agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat, who juggles the additional portfolio of school education in the newly formed government, has already taken over the controls at the ministry. Along with new initiatives on the anvil, he is planning to revive a few old ones, while dealing with the flak his predecessor, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, received during his tenure. In an interview to DNA, Thorat talks about the challenges ahead.
Will you extend the online process for junior college admissions to the entire state, as announced by former minister R Vikhe-Patil?
I have had meeting with officials on the implementation of the online process. I have learnt it was a good idea, but was launched in a hurry. This year we have enough time to plug the loopholes and we intend to extend it to the state.
What went wrong, and how will you address the problem?
Most mistakes happened because parents and students fed the wrong information online. We are planning to come up with guidelines to train them. There are many other things, such as the implementation of the ATKT [allowed to keep term] scheme for students who have failed.
What do you think of Kapil Sibal’s proposal to make 10th standard exams optional?
That needs a lot of study and cannot be decided in a hurry. We will have to study if it is feasible in our state.
You also handle the agriculture portfolio. Should agricultural science be taught at school level?
I support the idea completely. Seeing the demand for biotechnology at the higher education level and the way it is changing the agriculture scenario, some basics need to be compulsorily taught at the school level. I will see if this can be implemented.
Any proposals awaiting the ministry’s approval?
There is a pending proposal to include 8th standard in the primary section. It was raised in the cabinet last week. The Sarva Shikshan Abhiyaan programme is for students aged 6 to 14, and for the primary section. But in Maharashtra, the primary section is till 8th standard.
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