Page 24 - EW September 2023

Education News

Development Corporation together India’s much-too-few
with IIM-A recommended a site institutions of near-
in Navi Mumbai that was previ- global standards (IITs,
ously offered to the Indian School of IIMs, Central univer-
Business (ISB) which is located in sities) has been a sore
Hyderabad because the state govern- point with several state
ment insisted on a parochial quota governments objecting
of seats for Maharashtra students. to national common
For the same reason, this project was entrance tests on the
rejected. ground that test papers
IIM-Mumbai’s confidence in are set to standards/syl-
the name change is reflected in the labi prescribed by the
institute’s resolve to raise its tuition national CBSE and CIS-
fees (“subject to approval of the CE exam boards which
Board of Governors”) to Rs.20.4 Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin placed students graduat-
lakh for its two-year Masters degree ing from state boards at a
programmes, from NITIE’s Rs.15 trywide, including public and pri- disadvantage, especially when writing
lakh. Tiwari defends this on the vate medical colleges in Tamil Nadu NEET.
grounds that this fee is substantially (pop.68 million). amil Nadu’s call to bring educa-
lower than of other IIMs and that the Chief minister Stalin’s remarks Ttion under the state list is not new.
Central government grant to NITIE came on the back of heart-rending On earlier occasions too, the state
will cease and “IIM-M will have to tragedies of a teen and his father, who has demanded transfer of education
become financially independent from took their own lives in August, which to exclusively state subjects listed in
next year and start building its own have shaken the state. The teenager, Seventh Schedule under Article 246
corpus.” S. Jagadeeshwaran took his own life of the Constitution as in the original
Although IIM-Mumbai has on August 12, after he failed to clear Constitution document. Only during
been a long time coming, given the NEET. The student’s father, P. Sel- the height of Emergency declared by
go-getting business culture of the vasekar committed suicide a day later, prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975,
Maximum City, the institute is set to unable to bear the loss of his son. when most opposition party members
give India’s top ranked B-schools a Following consistent reports that were in jail and Parliament was in dis-
run for their money. liberal marking of class XII school- array, was education transferred to
Nasrin Modak Siddiqi (Mumbai) leaving exam papers by the country’s concurrent list.
31 state exam boards were giving their This controversy has elicited
TAMIL NADU students an advantage over students mixed response from academics in
Dangerous education writing national CBSE, CISCE school- Tamil Nadu. ATB Bose, general
leaving exams and getting relatively
secretary of the Association of Man-
politics easy admission into medical colleges agements of Private Schools of Tamil
Nadu, believes education should
and Central universities, over the
past few years, the BJP government remain in the concurrent list in the
he dmk government of tamil has been decreeing common national interests of national integration and
Nadu is determined to shift entrance exams on the highly success- prevalence of acceptable standards of
Teducation from the concurrent ful IIT and IIM models. The objective primary-secondary education coun-
list of the Constitution — which means is to provide a “level playing field” trywide. “As stipulated in NCF-SE
that both the Central and state govern- for all school leavers. Thus in 2016, 2023 in core subjects — languages,
ments can enact legislation on educa- the Central government mandated mathematics, science, vocational ed-
tion — to the state list. NEET — a common entrance exam ucation — national standards need to
During his Independence Day ad- — whose toppers in descending order be set by the Centre with some latitude
dress in Chennai, chief minister M.K. get to choose medical colleges of their in social sciences for regional content
Stalin said: “Moving education to the choice nationwide. Similarly in May as provided in NCF-SE. This is neces-
state list from the concurrent list of this year, the Union education minis- sary for labour mobility and overall
the Constitution is the way forward try introduced CUET (Common Uni- equity,” says Bose.
to scrap the National Eligibility cum versity Entrance Test) for determining On the other hand, Prince Ga-
Entrance Test (NEET)” — the nation- admission into 47 Central government jendra Babu, general secretary of
al test which determines admission universities. the State Platform for Common School
into all medical colleges (703) coun- Centralisation of admission into System, Tamil Nadu believes “that

24 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2023