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Kokrajhar: Bodoland University Employees’ Union and Association jointly staged dharna inside the premises of Bodoland University on Wednesday.
In a press statement, Bodoland university employees union stated that they have gone through the Draft National Education Policy, 2019 and that it contained certain contradictory recommendations with regard to Higher Education development in this country. “We welcome the recommendation in so far as provision for spending 6% of the GDP for education although no specific time limit has been set. The Draft Policy merely repeated the earlier commitments made in NEP, 1968 and NEP, 1986. As the Draft Policy itself mentioned that in spite of NEP 1968 and 1986 the public expenditure is only 2.7% of the GDP till 2017-18,” said MB Sajjan, General Secretary, Bodoland University Employees’ Union stated in the press statement.
They further mentioned that while going through the Draft, they did not find a single reference to Non-Teaching employees who plays a vital role in the administration of the Universities and implementing various policy decisions.
They also claimed that there is a subtle attempt either to obliterate and or downgrade the University Grants Commission which played a significant role over the years for the development of Higher Education in the country and also separating the NAAC from the UGC would not be a welcome move. “There is also a hint in the draft of outsourcing accreditation to several other institutions which are not specified,” read the press statement.
The idea of the formation of National Education Commission and the National Higher Education Regulatory Authority would result in over-centralization of Education unless checks and balances are adequately provided, they claimed.
Further, as of now only Parliament and or State Legislatures have the authority to set up Universities. But according to some provisions in the Draft, Institutions of Higher Education including Universities could be set up through a Higher Education Institutions Charter from NHERA (National Higher Education Regulatory Authority) which clearly subverts the power and privileges of National Parliament and or State Legislatures if we have correctly understood its implications.
Read the press statement by the Bodoland University Employees’ Union here:
Non-teaching Employees of the Universities are treated just like neglected children of the family of Universities. In spite of our repeated appeal over the years the University Grants Commission did not consider Uniform Pay-scales and service conditions for the non-teaching employees of the Universities. Under the same roof, category A and B employees enjoy UGC pay-scales but category C and D are denied. This has happened in spite of the fact that Chairman of University Grants Commission and HRD Ministers on different occasions agreed to our plea in the matter. But nothing moved forward.
We sincerely hope, the Union Government under your leadership would finally settle the long-pending demand and do justices to lakhs of non-teaching employees of the Universities across the country.
Universities and other Institutions of Higher Education are such institutions where the respective Vice-Chancellors/Directors cannot run their institutions with daily-wage, contractual, out-sourced staff as the nature of the job in a University is quite different from other organizations. But on an average 40 to 50 percent posts are vacant in almost all the Universities and in most of the cases sensitive work like the academic council, the conduct of examination, finance, setting of question papers are handled by casual staff leading to large-scale mismanagement and also corruption. Any lofty ideals cannot be implemented without adequate auxiliary staff to be in the office or in the research laboratory. Further, there is an urgent need for skill development and in-service training due to the use of modern technology.
The union urged for provisions for recruitment of adequate staff and asks the concerned Department/State Governments to fill up all vacant posts, to regularize all casual/contractual staff and make one-time financial allocation for recruitment of staff, both general and technical and also provide for housing inside the campus for smooth running of the Universities.
The University Grants Commission, till it exists in its present form or any other authority to be created in future may kindly be directed to formulate a model regulation thereby prescribing a system so as to provide for representation of non-teaching employees in the decision making bodies of the University like Senate and Syndicate, Executive Council and Board of Management as the non-teaching employees are more experienced due to length of service/work experience in dealing with problems compared to others in the University Management.
There is a provision in the Draft Policy to ensure research and innovation but has not been specified what kind of research and innovation. Research and innovation concerning the lives of ordinary people and to help them to be self-sustaining in their daily struggles for existence should also be undertaken apart from fundamental research.
Privatization in Education is the result of gradual withdrawing of the state from the field of education over the years and the Draft NEP, 2019 clearly says this if we look at the implementation of 1968 and 1986 Policies. What we have seen is that private investment came only in professional courses such as Management, Technical and Health Services and the result is hopeless, barring a counted few institutions, as various reports suggest that the quality of graduates turned out by these private institutions are sub-standard to a large extent.
Furthermore, they appealed to ensure further consultation in the matter of Draft New Education Policy, 2019 and not to rush through the passing of the Bill in the Parliament.