Student and Youth Groups Protest Against Assam's Draft College Teacher Recruitment Rules

Staff reporter

Guwahati: Six student and youth organizations, including SFI and DYFI, staged a protest at Dighalipukhuri on Friday, demanding the withdrawal of the draft rules for college teacher recruitment in Assam. The protesters alleged that the proposed rules are a deliberate attempt to undermine higher education in the state, centralizing control and stripping autonomy from colleges.

Under the proposed system, teacher recruitment will involve a written examination worth 90 marks and an interview carrying 10 marks. The syllabus for this exam has raised concerns, as only five marks in the interview are allotted for subject-specific knowledge, while significant weight is given to administrative topics. Protesters criticized this emphasis, arguing that teachers should be evaluated primarily on their expertise in their respective subjects rather than administrative knowledge.

"This recruitment process is turning college teachers into administrators. The foundation of higher education is research and subject expertise, but these rules make research irrelevant," said Sangeeta Das, secretary of SFI. The protesters fear that the new system will promote coaching mafias and disadvantage economically weaker students.

Additionally, the draft rules seek to curtail the powers of college governing bodies, which currently oversee academic and administrative functions. By centralizing control with bureaucrats, the protesters claim that the government is undermining local autonomy. "The presence of a centralized system would mean teachers' leave, promotions, and duties will be dictated by officials, not local governing bodies," said Ritu Ranjan Das, Secretary of DYFI.

Protesters also raised concerns about UGC compliance, suggesting that the proposed rules could lead to colleges losing UGC funding and grants. They warned that increased bureaucratic control, coupled with a shift towards centralized processes like online attendance monitoring and recruitment through a single board, would harm Assam's higher education sector.

The organizations collectively demanded the immediate withdrawal of the draft rules, stating that such measures would destroy the intellectual environment necessary for quality research and education in the state.

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