Monitoring Human Capital Index in J&K UT
*MoE, NITI Aayog priority fails to receive due attention
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 31: Though it is on the priority list of the Union Ministry of Education and NITI Aayog yet monitoring of Human Capital Index has failed to receive due attention in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This is mainly because the committee of officers, which was assigned the task, has not started the exercise even after the lapse of several months.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Education, Government of India vide DO No.28-6/2020Stat.(E) dated August 5, 2021 asked the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to start monitoring Human Capital Index on the priority basis and share the relevant information with the Ministry.
Similarly, the National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog is repeatedly laying thrust on the constant monitoring of Human Capital Index so that necessary corrective steps wherever required are taken well in time.
Vide Government Order No.854-JK(GAD) dated September 8, 2021, the School Education Department was designated as Nodal Department for monitoring of the Human Capital Index in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Moreover, a committee of officers was constituted for monitoring of Human Capital Index. The committee comprising Principal Secretary to the Government, School Education Department, Additional Secretary Social Welfare Department, Additional Secretary Higher Education Department, Project Director Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Additional Secretary Health and Medical Education Department and Additional Secretary Skill Development Department was also asked to monitor progress and ensure improvement in the reform actions.
It was specifically mentioned in the order that committee shall meet frequently (at least once a month) and ensure on ground implementation of the reform actions. Further, it was asked to submit its report to the School Education Department on quarterly basis.
However, the committee has not started acting on the Terms of Reference till date on the pretext that broad aspect and parameters for the task were not shared with it either by the General Administration Department at the time of issuance of the order or the Union Education Ministry, sources said, adding “it is a really a matter of concern that instead of submitting report of the third quarter of the current financial year the committee has yet not initiated even a single step to implement the directions of the Union Ministry and three months have lapsed in collecting of relevant information”.
When contacted, some members of the committee, while admitting that monitoring of Human Capital Index has yet not been started, said, “now, we have obtained the required information from the Government of India and hopefully the meeting will be convened next month”.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Human Capital Index measures the contribution of health and education to the productivity of individuals. It is a summary measure of the amount of human capital that a child born today can expect to acquire by age 18 given the risks of poor health and poor education that prevail.
The Human Capital Index quantitatively illustrates the key stages in the trajectory from birth to adulthood of a child born in a given year and their consequences for the productivity of the next generation of workers with three components—survival, school and health. The survival component is measured using the under 5-years mortality rate while as the component of second index combines information on the quantity and quality of education.
“While the Government of India is emphasizing the importance of investing in human capital to ensure better economic growth and to improve competitiveness, the Government of J&K has yet not taken the aspect with required seriousness despite the fact that Human Capital Index measures the progress of each country/State toward the highest standard of education and health”.
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