Tamil Nadu is opposed to the “entry requirements” for higher education listed in the University Grants Commission’s Draft National Higher Education Qualifications Framework, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi said on Tuesday.
In a statement, he said the State government would consult academics and members of the public and collate their responses. His response came on a day The Hindu in its State of Play column highlighted concerns among the academic stakeholders over the DMK government’s silence on the draft framework.
In a three-page statement, the Minister said the Union Education Ministry’s e-mail on the draft was received on February 18 and the State had very little time to evaluate the plan.
“The State opposes the policy as it could destroy the State’s policy of ‘education for all’. The State government had, under the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, abolished the entrance tests for medical and engineering courses because they became inaccessible to the poor and rural students. The Union government’s proposal to introduce a compulsory entrance examination for arts and science courses is harsher than NEET as it would prevent students of the lower socio-economic background from having access to higher education,” he said.
The State felt that the current 10+2+3 pattern should continue in higher education, the Minister said, adding that the proposal to permit exit of college students at the end of each academic year would only encourage dropout.
The draft framework has proposed four years of undergraduation and has stipulated that those with a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Points Average) lower than 7.5 would not be allowed to move to the fourth year. This, Mr. Pondmudi said, went against the principles of natural justice and the State’s policy.
He said the State was opposed to the plan because such conditions would not only increase the duration of study but would also diminish the interest among students in education and increase the dropout rate.
According to him, the draft framework would destroy the education system created over 100 years and was against the welfare of the marginalised students. The State was setting up a committee to develop a State education policy, he said.
