New Delhi: Why is There No Minimum Educational Qualification for MPs and MLAs: Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that a minimum educational qualification should be fixed for MPs and MLAs. Earlier, in 2005, the Supreme Court had said in a decision on tainted MPs and MLAs that there should be a minimum qualification. India's first President Rajendra Prasad had regretted that the educational qualification for the members of the legislature has not been fixed in the Constitution.

Let us look at this issue from various angles. First, what are the reasons for not setting such qualifications? Are these reasons still valid today? What happens in other countries of the world? How many MPs in the current Lok Sabha are educated?

Why is the educational qualification for MPs and MLAs not fixed in the Constitution?

When the Constitution was adopted in 1950, the main reason for not fixing educational qualifications for MPs and MLAs was the very low level of literacy. There was a fear that if this was done, a large section of the population would not be eligible to contest elections.

We have also heard that Kumaraswamy Kamaraj, the extraordinary chief minister of Tamil Nadu, did not complete his schooling. In fact, at that time it was the government's responsibility to provide education.

The argument was that if the government has failed in its duty to provide education to a large section of the population, it cannot penalise people again by disqualifying them from standing for election. The issue of eligibility for voting is close to this.

India granted voting rights to all citizens only after independence. In contrast, other countries such as the US initially granted voting rights to white men and property owners. Women were granted voting rights in the fourth decade of the 20th century, nearly two decades after US independence.

Why did you not think- education is necessary for MPs and MLAs too

Some conservative people today believe that there is a minimum qualification required for voters. There is no minimum educational qualification for leaders in any country in the world. Perhaps it was believed that uneducated people would not be elected.

In India, 77 percent of elected MPs are graduates. Only seven MPs have not passed 10th standard. This means that 98.7 percent of elected MPs have completed 10th standard or above. However, 15 percent of the ministers in the central government are not graduates.

Qualification is not fixed even for the executive post

In India, there is probably a need to fix qualifications for ministers because it is an executive post. The question arises that what is the purpose behind the comments of the High Court and the Supreme Court? The reason for these comments is that the best people are not coming into politics. Today educational qualifications may not help in politics because most people have completed high school and college education.

The number of MPs with criminal records in Parliament is quite high. At present, the number of MPs with criminal records is 46 percent. In 2019, the number of such MPs was 43 percent and in 2014, the number of such MPs was 34 percent.

Many clever arguments are given to justify this, but the fact is that leaders of political parties give tickets to people with criminal records. They can stop doing this. The system will not correct itself. It requires a change in the rules or the law.

When there are experts in every field then why not in Parliament?

 Today's world is becoming more complex sector by sector. Financial markets require a lot of expertise. People cannot lead banks or financial institutions without the right education, experience and a rigorous selection process, but a finance minister does not need any qualifications.

The finance minister can take decisions that affect the functioning of the entire financial system. This is also true for education, health and law.

Ministers are generally less educated or experienced than those in top positions in universities, doctors and judges. Even officers in the civil service are not keeping pace with the advances in knowledge and specialisation in many fields.