Joint Action Council of college teachers opposes Private Universities Amendment Bill

The Joint Action Council of College Teachers (JAC), Tamil Nadu has opposed the Tamil Nadu government’s determination to person government-aided colleges to ‘Brown tract Universities’ done the Private Universities Amendment Bill that was tabled successful the Assembly connected Wednesday.

In a connection connected Thursday, the JAC termed the determination arsenic an effort to measurement up efforts towards privatisation of higher acquisition successful the State, thereby putting an extremity to dreams of mediocre students.

According to the Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act, 2019, a minimum of 100 acres was needed to acceptable up a backstage university. However, the amendment Bill states that the request for a Brown tract University was 25 acres successful municipal corp areas, 35 acres successful municipality oregon municipality panchayat areas, and 50 acres successful different areas. This, the JAC alleged, was a ploy to facilitate constitution of specified universities successful ample numbers, thereby commercialising the higher acquisition scenery successful the State.

Moreover, the basal facilities successful these aided colleges were acceptable up utilizing grants from MP and MLA Local Area Development Fund and the UGC. Handing them implicit to backstage parties went against each tenets of societal justice. It besides meant that the authorities was turning distant from its societal work of providing prime and affordable higher acquisition to students successful the State. The determination was ideologically successful enactment with the National Education Policy, 2020, the connection said.

It was echoed by the State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu, which successful a connection said that the determination was a measurement towards establishing Type 3 higher acquisition institutes successful accordance with NEP 2020. While connected 1 hand, mediocre students would beryllium impacted, connected the other, work conditions of some teaching and non-teaching unit would beryllium affected.