Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of RSS, on Saturday said that University Grant Commission (UGC) should have a comprehensive discussion on the draft for setting up Indian campuses of foreign universities. It also wanted the government to earmark 6% of the total GDP for education, of which 2% should go towards higher education and research.
Among several other demands raised at the inauguration of the two-day long meeting of its Central Working Committee being held in Mysore, the ABVP also maintained that the Central government should follow the student-centric policy in the NEET-PG exam, 2023.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), earlier this month, announced draft norms for facilitating foreign universities and educational institutions to set up campuses in India, allowing them autonomy in determining fees, as well as a 90-day approval process. The UGC authorities maintained that the final norms might be notified by the end of January after feedback from all stakeholders is taken into consideration.
A foreign university with a rank among the top 500 global rankings or a foreign educational institution of repute in its home jurisdiction can apply to the UGC to set up a campus in India.
“ABVP demands from the authorities of UGC that there should be a comprehensive discussion on the draft for setting up Indian campuses of foreign universities and the suggestions of all the stakeholders should be seriously considered in this context,” ABVP’s national general secretary Yagyavalkya Shukla said.
Demanding higher budget allocation for education, ABVP said that the Central government should release the budget in a phased manner to give shape to the various institutions that are part of the education policy.
“The condition of State universities in India is very bad and this is all due to the government’s apathy towards them. We at ABVP demand that the respective State governments work to improve the condition of State universities by paying special attention to the education sector,” Mr. Shukla said, adding that ABVP hoped there would immediate action on all the issues raised by the organisation.
The Central Working Committee also expressed concern over the ongoing protest by the medical students who want an extension of the cut-off date to finish MBBS internships and maintained that the government must work on an immediate solution to problems related to NEET-PG and JEE exams (the gap between exam and counselling).
“Keeping in view the interests of the students, we demand that the examination be conducted in the month of May and the internship eligibility [extended] at least till 31st July and the counseling be started in August,” the ABVP said.
