New Education Policy Causes Friction in Tamil Nadu Government

Professor L Jawahar Nesan, member-cum-convener of the high-level committee formed to formulate a distinct State Education Policy (SEP) for Tamil Nadu resigned on May 10 citing frequent interference of certain higher officials.

The officials reportedly threatened and pressured Nesan to toe Tamil Nadu’s line for framing the SEP in tune with the NEP 2020. Notably, the state government had rejected the NEP.

Soon after the draft NEP was released, Nesan wrote a book

In Search of Education: Nationalistic Education Vs Society Driven Education critiquing the BJP’s education policy. He argued that the government wanted to use education to favour high-caste Hindus oppressing everyone else. He proposed society-driven education as an alternative.

“His resignation is a setback for the state. It is unfortunate
that T Udhayachandran, IAS, has been disrespectful towards him” said Janarthanan, a Tamil Nadu Science Forum activist working on education. Udhayachandran is the principal secretary to chief minister MK Stalin.

“There are claims that he functioned independently. He
formed sub-committees under the high-level committee. But his vision was good. He hoped that Tamil Nadu would be an example for other states in the SEP. He came out dejected,” he added.

DMK SCHEMES IN LINE WITH NEP?

Nesan had also criticised certain DMK government schemes like Illam Thedi Kalvi (education at your doorstep) and Ennum Ezhuthum (numbers and words) as an extension of the NEP.

“These schemes were implemented through volunteers—that was the only aspect relevant to the NEP. The words ‘out of school children’ and ‘learning gap’ are found in almost all education policies; they cannot be cited to say the schemes were an outcome of the NEP,” said Janarthanan.

A zonal coordinator of Illam Thedi Kalvi requesting anonymity said “Although these were volunteer-based schemes, they helped women who were restricted to their homes to step out.” Preference was given to women volunteers.

“Illam Thedi Kalvi and Ennum Ezhuthum were formulated to bridge education gaps caused by COVID-19. They were a result of ground-level studies. TNSF conducted surveys in 129 villages of 41 districts during 2020-21 and submitted its report to the state” added Janarthanan.

NEP A POLITICAL STATEMENT

Non-BJP-ruled states like Tamil Nadu are in a difficult position with the NEP not mentioning funding and only centralising the control on education.

“The control is with the Centre, but states must arrange funding. If states cannot fund, they may privatise education—the only option available under this structure. Education loans would be arranged,” said retired professor V Murugan.
“We should understand that the NEP is a political statement. The ruling class’s agenda is not in line with the education system. Therefore, they are imposing a new structure,” he said.

“Most people see NEP’s Hindutva and neoliberal agenda.
Even if Rahul Gandhi or Mamatha Banerjee rule the country, they will retain the crux of the policy and change a few things such as rewriting history” Murugan added.

“We must remember that the Yashpal Commission first proposed the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) during the Manmohan Singh regime.”

The Yashpal Commission report reads “… the overall regulating structure for all higher education should be just one. This would imply that the UGC and AICTE

should be subsumed within a single Higher Education Commission.”

The Central Government plans to bring the Indian

Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management, National Institute of Technology (NIEST), Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research (IISER) and other institutes of national importance under the HECI.

NEP AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

The NEP is in line with India’s commitment to the WTO. At the higher education level, the NEP proposes four-year bachelor’s degree, multi-disciplinary courses and centralised campuses.

“The changes have nothing to do directly with Hindutva; they are towards the fourth industrial revolution” Murugan said.

“Small colleges may not be able to provide many courses. Therefore, they are centralised towards large universities. The policy also proposes providing flexibility, such as earning academic credits from different campuses, and even MOOCs. These are successful in the USA. That does not mean they will work in India,” he said.

“Kerala has understood the NEP properly. The state’s education minister clearly says the policy makes education a commodity. Yet the state has not blindly rejected the policy. They have incorporated the aspects necessary for a fourth industrial revolution. They have accepted the inter-disciplinary approach and the redistribution of higher education from 3+2 to 4+1 years,” he said.

The IITs, NIIT and IISER are already adopting the inter-disciplinary approach. “Why are the masses restricted?” he questioned.

Regarding affirmative action, Murugan said, “Social justice and reservation are inconsistent with the neoliberal agenda. Additionally, these aspects are in line with the BJP ideology.”