FEDCUTA Press Release: 14 November 2019

   
Teachers and students from the premier Delhi-based central universities, DU, JNU, Jamia and IGNOU, rallied under the banner of the Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) at Mandi House and marched to Jantar Mantar, demanding withdrawal of the NEP.

As thousands of teachers and students shouted slogans decrying the willful destruction of public-funded institutions in the country, leaders of several political parties addressed the teachers and students calling attention to the anti-people policies of the government. D. Raja (CPI), Subhashini Ali (CPI(M)), Dilip Pandey (AAP), Ashok Tanwar (Congress) were among those who participated and expressed their solidarity.

The NEP, presently awaiting cabinet approval, makes a mockery of public trust in higher education and research by removing all standards of quality and equity from public-funded institutions. It limits regulation to an Outcomes-based approach that will empower private corporate bodies (BoGs) to run universities and colleges on brazenly commercial lines, appoint teachers and govern their service conditions through fear or favour, deny any democratic participation of teachers and students in decision-making processes, hike students’ fees at will and use online courses to expand enrolment. 


A precursor to the NEP can be clearly seen in the authoritarian fee hikes that have prompted massive unrest among students in JNU and IITs.

These drastic increases in tuition and hostel fees are the result of MHRD-mandated hikes in “user charges” for public-funded institutions that are being forced into loan funding, following the setting up of HEFA by the Union Government. Pulling out of the responsibility to fund educational infrastructure and appoint regular faculty, this Government is trying to pass an Educational Policy that will allow it to hire and fire teachers at will, attach academic research to the needs of big profit-making corporations (through the National Research Foundation) and hand over the stakes of running all higher educational institutions to private corporate bodies. 

Students, especially from the economically weaker and socially marginalised sections, like women, minorities, dalits and tribals will be hit hardest by this disruptive policy framework as quality higher education and research will become unaffordable for these sections. 

Thrusting authoritarian and non-academic bodies like BoGs over teachers will also prevent the system from nurturing and attracting genuine academic talent in colleges and universities. Instead, it will encourage nepotism and intellectual slavery. Among those most affected by the Government’s continuous attempts to cut costs and push the educational sector towards informalisation, are the many thousands of qualified teachers who have been languishing for years in DU without any permanent jobs. For institutional stability, a one-time regulation through which these teachers are absorbed into permanent positions is the only justifiable recourse. 

The FEDCUTA is committed to resisting the NEP and using all democratic means to thwart its disastrous, anti-people provisions. The MHRD and Union Cabinet must take note of the intensifying disaffection among students and teachers and withdraw the NEP in its present form. A much wider and more democratic debate is needed in national interest to ensure that inclusivity and quality in higher education is not sacrificed at the altar of privatisation.

         Rajib Ray                                                                                                           D.K. Lobiyal