The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Reforms deal a blow to higher education: Fernandes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 29, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Reforms deal a blow to higher education: Fernandes

Special Correspondent

`Governments are forced to toe World Bank line; teachers in Bihar a desperate lot'

VIJAYAWADA: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor and former Defence Minister, George Fernandes, has expressed concern over the adverse impact of the new economic policies on universities and other institutions of higher learning in the country.

Participating as chief guest at a seminar on "the future of universities in the context of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation" organised as part of the 9th national convention of the All-India University Employees' Confederation (AIUEC) here on Saturday, the former Union Minister lamented that the ushering in of the WTO regime had resulted in a drastic fall in the performance a few key sectors like higher education. In the context of the globalisation and liberalisation policies, the Governments were forced to take suggestions from the international lending agencies like the World Bank about the investments that should be made in the field of higher education. Efforts were still on to religiously follow the guidelines prescribed under the WTO regime.

The situation was particularly pathetic in the States like Bihar where "vitta rahit shikshak" (non-salaried teachers) was still in practice.

As many as 1,110 teachers working under the system had committed suicide in Bihar in the past decade as the posts turned out to be non-remunerative and no recognition had been given to them.

Call for agitation

Stressing the need for a countrywide agitation involving all sections in the field of education, he, however, expressed concern that the working class was not able to take to the agitational path in the light of the new economic policies.

The recent judgment given by the Supreme Court ruling agitations by working class to be illegal was an example for this.

Mr. Fernandes exhorted the members of the AIUEC to chalk out a concrete plan for improving the conditions of universities and institutions of higher learning. Members should be prepared for launching agitations whenever needed for their genuine causes instead of restricting their debates on various issues to seminars and other events and the Samata Party would extend its fullest cooperation to all such efforts.

The AIUEC president, Bhanavi Shankar Hota, presided over the inaugural of the seminar. The AIUEC secretary-general, Sunil Das Gupta, and the Osmania University head of Journalism department, K. Nageswar, spoke.

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