The global economic meltdown of 2008-09 fiscal has come as a blessing in disguise for the Indian education sector. What happened as a result of this financial catastrophe of epic proportions was that the salaries of the graduates of the well known business schools came down and the amount of donations given to medical and engineering colleges was reduced to a significant extent.

This global economic slowdown actually helped the Indian education sector get back on its feet. Efforts were started to shake up the system and bring at on an equal footing with the best in the business on a global scale. Kapil Sibal, the minister for development of human resources, has made earnest efforts to pump in some accountability in the system – he has been trying to make it a more student friendly one.

Technical education in India is a crucial area. The job market is expanding slowly but its growth may be hampered owing to a lack of properly qualified professionals. It is important that this area is addressed – the infrastructure and facilities provided to the students have to improve. Anything else, the technical sector may be left high and dry.

In fact the Indian government has taken the right steps in this regard. It has gone about emphasizing the need for putting some regulations in place. They have stated that they are not against the influx of private sector in the world of education. However, certain standards have to be met so that quality education could be provided. Previously the need for technical institutions had spawned many colleges that may not have been the best options for the students.

The Union HRD minister of India, Kapil Sibal has said that till the 12th standard the students should be provided with knowledge that is necessary and basic to Indian legal system. He has suggested these changes as part of the overhaul that the Indian legal educational system is supposed to undergo.

He has also said these alterations are a part of the changes that are to be effected in the Indian legal education system. He has advocated the introduction of a bachelor’s program for legal education so that the kids who graduate from their higher secondary stages can head directly to these courses.

As of now the legal courses in operation function as additions to the normal bachelors level degrees. Sibal’s proposals have gathered steam as a result of the fact that law occupies an important position in the present day scheme of things.

Sibal has said that at the rate things are developing and the challenges being faced by people at every nook and corner in life law is becoming a well nigh integral part of human lives. He has said that legal education has to be introduced at earlier stages in Indian education so that people are ready to face those challenges.

The Bar Council of India, which is the regulatory body for legal education and profession, has expressed its opposition towards such a proposition. This has prompted Sibal to set up a round table conference to discuss the issue. Sibal has however shied away from a possible confrontation and has implored them to make suggestions.

The reforms initiated by the Union HRD Minister of India, Kapil Sibal, have evoked differing responses from the wide cross section of students and other members of the educational fraternity in India such as the teachers and the parents.

Even though the current nature of education in India meant that these changes were forthcoming and actually cemented Sibal’s position as a progressive minister, they have not been greeted with an undisputed welcome.

There have been certain sections of parents who have ticked off the advisors of Sibal calling them idealists who are planets away from the harsh reality that is Indian education. They have questioned the very purpose of these changes where the students are subjected to lesser pressure and thus given more opportunities to thrive and learn what they are doing.

These parents have said that these steps might actually make their kids underachievers, undisciplined and slow to learn. This assessment of theirs is especially applicable for the kids who are economically well off and attend the CBSE schools, most of which are located in the cities.

They are saying that even though the tenth standard examinations and their certificates are not of any value for the students who are rich, for students with less than privileged backgrounds they are of utmost importance as most of these kids have to leave school after that class and look for ways to earn livelihood. Some students and their parents have said that the class X examination is important as far as their competitive skills are concerned.