Teachers' & students' bodies call NEP 'threat to democracy'
new delhi: The new National Education Policy (NEP) that was adopted by the newly renamed Education Ministry on Wednesday has called upon the government's decision as a shocking development.
Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) in a statement said: "DUTA's opposition to the draft NEP rested, among other things, on its proposal to dismember universities and handover every higher educational institution to a Board of Governors, which is to enjoy all powers hitherto vested in the governing authorities of colleges and universities as well as the UGC and other regulating bodies."
Under the NEP 2020 Standalone Higher Education Institutes and professional education institutes will be evolved into multi-disciplinary education. There are over 45,000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under Graded Autonomy, Academic, Administrative and Financial Autonomy will be given to colleges, on the basis of the status of their accreditation.
DUTA, meanwhile called the decision a threat to the democracy. "DUTA calls upon the government to desist from bulldozing changes which will have grave consequences for our country and instead to engage in a dialogue with the academia. The proforma feedback system on important policy matters whereby opinions are sought but not debated is not acceptable. It threatens democracy and jeopardises peoples' future," it added.
Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union (JNUSU) also took to Twitter, adding that the decision is a move to commercialise education. Under the NEP the world's top 100 foreign universities will be "facilitated" to operate in India through a new law. According to the Education Ministry document, the listing salient features of policy, "such (foreign) universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India."
Meanwhile, the National President of the Students' Federation of India called the policy anti-people. The organisations have said they will conduct massive protests against the decision by the Union Cabinet.mpost
