Chennai:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has joined his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin in criticizing the provisions in the draft rules of the new University Grants Commission. Mr Vijayan on Tuesday moved a resolution in the Kerala Assembly demanding withdrawal of the guidelines.
On Monday Mr Stalin said some sections “are in conflict with the educational system and policies of the state” and said these challenge the integrity, autonomy and development of state-run universities. He urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to abolish those rules.
The red flag sections also include a section about the selection and appointment of vice-chancellors of state-run universities, a controversial topic in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The government in each state has been engaged in a long-running battle with their respective governors over passing a bill to limit the actual chancellor’s influence on the process. The clause in question allows the Governor to nominate a UGC member to the search committee.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea by the Tamil Nadu government that at least six universities are without vice-chancellors as the Governor has insisted on including a UGC nominee in the search committees. The state has said this is not required by law for these universities.
UGC is a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Education.
To garner support, Mr Stalin wrote to chief ministers of states not ruled by the BJP or its allies, asking them to pass resolutions similar to those passed by his government on January 9.
Letters were also sent to the heads of the governments of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Telangana and Bengal as well as Mr Vijayan.
Mr Stalin had said, “It is important that we unite against these attempts to centralize power and weaken the federal structure of our country. If you can consider this request and pass a resolution in your assemblies I would appreciate it if you can take necessary steps for this.” ,
And DMK spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah outlined the ruling party’s position in a brief video statement this morning. “The existing UGC guidelines regarding appointment of Vice-Chancellors in State Universities have completely usurped the rights of the elected State Governments. Education is in the Concurrent List… but the Central Government is taking it in the Union List, which is against the spirit of Is against.” of cooperative federalism and this is unacceptable,” he said.
Dr. Hafeezullah raised questions on the rationale of the new UGC rules and said that this will help in improving the quality of education. He pointed out that Tamil Nadu is already a “front runner” in the region; According to the National Institutional Research Framework, many of the top 100 universities in the country are from Tamil Nadu.
He said, “When it comes to education, the UGC and the Central government need to learn from Tamil Nadu… That is why the Chief Minister has written to the state leaders to protect the rights of the states and give constitutional guarantees to the elected governments. “
Other points of contention in the new UGC guidelines are the introduction of entrance exams for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and the multiple entry, multiple exit proposal that will allow students to pursue any degree irrespective of their secondary stream.
In theory, this would allow a student to pursue a master’s degree in an engineering or technology-related subject following a four-year degree in the arts.
with inputs from agencies
(TagstoTranslate)UGC Draft Guidelines(T)MK Stalin(T)Pinarai Vijayan
