Educationists decried that the New Education Policy - 2020 brought in by the Centre “encourages private universities at the cost of the State-run higher education institutions.”
Kick-starting the discussion on the education policy, at a seminar organised by the CPI(M), Progressive Democratic Front MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao said that students were getting distanced from education, thanks to the exorbitant fees charged by private educational institutions which are failing to provide quality education even as the State-run universities were starved of funds.
The posts of teaching and non-teaching staff members at various levels, including junior colleges, degree colleges and professional colleges in the State, remained unfilled, he lamented and emphasised the need for the Union and State governments providing free education from LKG up to post-graduation.
Former MLC V. Balasubhramanyam expressed concern over 4.50 lakh students dropping out of government schools in the State following the merger of primary schools with high schools. Students faced a bleak future as 30,000 teacher posts remained vacant in government schools, and over 12,000 schools downed the shutters, he said.
Mere allocation of funds for upgrading infrastructure in government schools under ‘Nadu-Nedu‘ would not suffice, he opined adding that quality education could be ensured only by filling up vacant teacher posts immediately. It was unfortunate that not even one District Selection Committee recruitment had been conducted by the State government, he said.
There was no need for students in government schools to undergo training for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), he felt, adding that teaching in the mother tongue would result in better learning by the students.
CPI(M) leader Y.V. Rao called for the replication of the ‘Kerala model‘ of education, which gives a pre-eminent position for State-run educational institutions.
