A discussion on the problems related to the draft National Education Policy by members of the Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa and Alagappa University Teachers' Association (MUTA), held here on Tuesday, highlighted the need for clarity on several matters, including reservation, merit-based selection and social justice.
State joint secretary, Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers’ Association, S. Suresh, said that the policy suggested the transformation of all colleges as autonomous institutions.
“If that is the case, they will have the ability to fix their own fees and syllabus. Till date, India has around 39,000 colleges and only 600 of those have autonomous status due to strict guidelines and standards. It will no longer be the case,” he said.
He added that the concept of ‘Syndicate’ in each university too would cease to exist according to the policy draft. Colleges would, instead, have board of governors in which two-third would be nominated members. “There will not be any elected representatives to represent different voices,” he said.
He added that the Centre was trying to arbitrarily define ‘merit’ as a qualification for achieving the post of Principal and Head of Department. “It is important to give proper quality to the word ‘merit’ and define requirements so that there is no space for interpretation,” he said.
National secretary of All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Associations S. Subbaraju recounted the tumultuous history of privatised education in India and condemned the publication of the policy draft only in Hindi and English. He said that the Centre was attempting the corporatise the entire set up.
Both speakers said that discussions regarding the policy should be held with professors, teachers and students for a better perspective.
