People's Democracy

THE central executive committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) has taken a strong exception to the latest circular sent by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to the central and state universities across the country, threatening them to fall in line with its so-called ‘model curriculum.’ The SFI said this move by the UGC has to be seen in the backdrop of the highly controversial attempts the HRD ministry is making to introduce communal and obscurantist curricula in schools through the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The UGC has argued for updating of the syllabi in the universities. The SFI said as a student organisation it has always been in the forefront of the struggle to improve academic standards and upgrade curricula in keeping with the needs of changing times. However, this ostensibly sensible proposition becomes problematic when one looks at both the thematic approach and the modus operandi of the UGC. The UGC is suggesting a uniform ‘standard’ for curriculum across the universities. In a pluralistic country like ours, the SFI said any effort to impose artificial uniformity on universities from above seriously infringes upon the constitutionally granted autonomy of academic institutions. Moreover, the arm-twisting method of providing funds only after syllabus updating smacks of authoritarianism and administrative high-handedness.

The UGC is recognised as a fund-disbursing agency only. But by taking upon itself the role of dictating to universities what their curricula should be, the UGC has clearly exceeded its brief. Moreover, it has done so in a political context where its pliant attitude vis-à-vis the HRD ministry’s attempt to communalise and commercialise education has become quite evident. The SFI has urged upon the entire academic community to come together in rejecting the UGC directive and seeking its immediate withdrawal. (INN)