The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) opposes the HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal’s surreptitious attempt to provide a via-media for stabilizing the functioning of already existing foreign educational institutions in the country, through Accreditation. This move is undemocratic and sly, considering that the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill and National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill are still pending in the Parliament. The DUTA is aware that the two Bills have provoked intense discontent and opposition amongst elected representatives across the political spectrum. The DUTA supports this opposition as it is of the considered view that these Bills will pave the way for wholesale commercialization of higher education and the imminent surrender of the State’s responsibility for public education to private and foreign players.
Even as the said Bills are being debated upon in the Parliament, Mr. Sibal’s effort to bail the existing foreign institutions out smacks of arrogance and a condemnable impatience with parliamentary democracy. The DUTA appeals to policy-makers to respect the teachers’ collective concern for equity, quality and public accountability in higher education and thus, persuade the Government to withdraw the Bills in National Interest. The DUTA also appeals to the MHRD to desist from circumvention and underhand means to legitimize foreign educational institutions and push through compulsory accreditation.
S.D. Siddiqui, Secretary Amar Deo Sharma, President
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