The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Abandon privatisation of higher education”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Abandon privatisation of higher education”

Staff Reporter

Extend retirement age: varsity staff

KODAIKANAL: Privatisation of higher education must be either abandoned or controlled failing which higher education will become a costly commodity and go beyond the reach of poor rural students.

This appeal was made at the executive committee meeting of Federation of Tamil Nadu All University Employee Associations held here on Saturday.

Delivering special address, Federation general secretary V. Selvaraj said that already, higher education had been commercialised. Private institutions were charging huge amount for imparting education.

Students, particularly from rural areas were struggling to pay tuition fees and high capitation fees, he added.

“If this trend continues, we cannot ensure quality education in future and in the long run, it will have adverse impact,” he cautioned.

Create quality human resource

“The Government should consider higher education as a service to create quality human resource.”

Listing various issues and problems faced by the employees of universities, association president V.C. Kamala Kannan urged to withdraw Government Order No.402 dated December 13, 2006, which was detrimental to the university staff, immediately.

The Government fixed the salary at lower pay scale for uniform pay scale to all, which reduced the existing pay package of several staff in major universities.

The Government must weed out disparities in pay package given to non-teaching staff in various universities.

They must be given salary on a par with Central universities. Over 100 non-teaching staff posts were vacant in Mother Teresa University.

Moreover, several staff have been working in junior assistant cadres for the past two decades, he alleged.

Rally in chennai

The Federation, also resolved to take out a massive rally in Chennai in the first week of March to draw the attention of the Government to its demands.

Representation of university employees in syndicate, senate and board of management of universities and extension of retirement age to 60, which was in practice in Central universities, were their main demands.

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