Page 24 - EW May 2023_Neat

Education News

that the same TMC government Bengal unit’s president, Pratikur
which was opposed to NEP 2020, Rehman, says the system of on-
and described it as an RSS agenda and-off education (with multiple en-
to impose Hindi and standardised try and exit points) and credits in an
curriculums on all states against Academic Bank of Credits has been
the spirit of federalism, is suddenly designed to make education very
in love with NEP 2020. “NEP 2020 expensive. “Only rich and affluent
will encourage corporatisation of the students will be able to afford higher
education system and destroy the education while students from low-
state-funded education sector from income backgrounds will drop out in
school to university levels. In a vast large numbers,” he says.
country like India, which has diversi- Amidst rising public anger
fied socio-economic conditions, a against the authoritarianism and
common yardstick cannot be applied corruption charges against the TMC
to all states,” thundered former but government, the abrupt decision to
now disgraced education minister implement the NEP recommended
Partha Chatterjee. Moreover last four-year degree programme for
year, Bratya Basu, who replaced undergraduate education in the state
Partha Chatterjee as the educa- is fuelling public anger against the
tion minister in 2021, had said that TMC. The inability of the TMC gov-
the state government would devise ernment now in its third consecutive
its own NEP instead of adopting NEP term in office to raise primary educa-
2020. tion standards because of recurring legislative assembly on April 21, the
imilarly chief minister Mamata teacher recruitment scandals and Comptroller and Auditor General
SBanerjee had awarded NEP high court stay orders has not only (CAG) of India commented that en-
2020 a mere 10-12 percent score. disillusioned Kolkata’s influential rolment in Tamil Nadu’s government
Her objections to the new policy bhadralok (cultured middle class) secondary and higher secondary
were that numerous suggestions but is also spreading to grassroots schools declined by 14.76 percent and
in the Kasturirangan Committee’s voters. This is badly hurting chief 11.84 percent respectively during the
policy draft were not included, and minister Mamata Banerjee’s pro- period 2016-21. The report attributed
that the multiple regulatory commit- jected image as a mass leader at a this to factors such as poor infrastruc-
tees proposed to be established will time when she has set her sights on ture and teacher shortage.
drive up administrative expenses. winning all West Bengal seats in the The report said that although the
Moreover, she was aggrieved that no General Election next year. state achieved a GER (gross enrolment
educationist from West Bengal was Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata) ratio) of 94.20 percent and 78.60 per-
included in the Kasturirangan Com- cent at secondary and higher second-
mittee constituted by the Centre to TAMIL NADU ary levels in 2020-21 which compares
write the NEP draft. favourably with the all-India average
Opposition parties in Bengal al- Tamil pride fallout of 79.89 percent and 53.80 percent re-
lege that the TMC has gone soft on spectively, higher secondary level en-
the BJP government at the Centre amil nadu’s education excep- rolments in aided and unaided private
because it has entered into a tacit tionalism — the state’s DMK schools and other schools, increased
understanding with the latter that Tgovernment wants to run its by 3.97 percent during 2016-21.
it will shield top TMC leaders from own NEET (National Eligibility cum However, the CAG report’s at-
corruption charges in the Rs.400- Entrance Test) for admission into tribution of poor infrastructure and
500 crore teachers’ recruitment the state’s medical colleges, aspires teacher shortage for the sad plight of
scam being investigated by CBI and to teach engineering undergrad and the state’s 3,685 secondary and 4,339
the Enforcement Directorate (ED), postgrad study programmes in Tamil senior secondary schools, has drawn
controlled by the BJP government at and wants to be exempted from the mixed response from academics and
the Centre. three languages formula in K-12 edu- education activists. “There is un-
Meanwhile, the Left-affiliated Stu- cation — is generating disillusionment doubtedly a growing teacher short-
dents’ Federation of India (SFI) has within the state’s higher secondary age in government schools. But to get
called for massive students’ protests system, the springboard for higher enough quality teachers, they need to
against the sudden U-turn decision education. be paid well. Presently, teachers in
of the TMC government. SFI West In a report tabled in the state’s government-run schools take home a

24 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2023