Page 72 - EW August 2021

International News

prime minister Narendra Modi would not normally be part
of the process for appointing Central university vice chan-
cellors. “If the list is going to the PMO, it should be seen
as violation of the process and overreach,” Apoorvanand,
a Hindi professor at Delhi University, told Times Higher
Education. “The government is looking for ideological loy-
alists and wants to be absolutely sure about their political
correctness before appointing them. This can be one reason
for the delay,” he adds.
Certainly the vacancies aren’t due to lack of interest. One
sector expert, who asked to speak anonymously, says there
were “many aspirants for the posts”. “The politicisation of
VC appointments is a major factor responsible for the de-
lay. Certain universities or institutions are not a priority
for the Central government. That is reflected not only in
VC appointments, but also in granting finance department
approval for the creation of new posts.” President Ivan Duque: bungled response
The situation has left top universities in a stalemate, as
interim or acting vice chancellors generally don’t appoint another march in the capital against reopening schools.
permanent staff or enact larger policy changes. Delhi Uni- Fecode is one of the most powerful trade unions in
versity, India’s legacy institution, ousted its leader last year Latin America, a region already full of over-mighty unions.
amid allegations, ironically, that he failed to fill key empty Fully 87 percent of Colombia’s public school teachers are
posts. In addition, four Indian Institutes of Technology members. It has a history of throwing its weight around.
(IITs) have been without permanent directors for more In 2015, it went on strike to oppose a proposal to use more
than a year. stringent measures to evaluate teachers; after three weeks,
The vacuum is seen as raising further questions about the government caved in. Since then, the union has felt em-
India’s ambitious National Education Policy (NEP), a 20- boldened, says Isabel Segovia, a Bogota-based education
year blueprint outlining how India can greatly expand analyst.
and internationalise its university sector. Experts say the The pandemic has further strengthened it. Fecode
reforms have “already been delayed”, given mass campus teachers initially refused to teach because they believed it
closures under India’s deadly second Covid-19 wave. The put them at risk of catching the virus. With good reason.
details are yet to be hashed out in Parliament. Around 11 percent of Colombia’s schools lack running wa-
“It is still not clear what this NEP wants to achieve,” says ter, making hand-washing impossible. Even so, much of
Prof. Apoorvanand. “There is no programme of action pro- the reason for the strike is political: the union wants a basic
posed by the government to implement it. So, it is vague income programme that would cost 6 percent of GDP and
and gives liberty to the government to do anything in the to help elect a left-wing government in next year’s elections.
name of the NEP.” Nelson Alarcon, a union leader, says all teachers should
be vaccinated before Fecode agrees to resume classes. Ide-
COLOMBIA ally, children should be vaccinated too. All teachers should
School reopening pains stop working, he says, until the government provides every
school water and enough space for students to learn two
IF ALL GOES TO PLAN, SCHOOLS IN Colom- metres apart. Like many union leaders, he sees no reason
bia (pop.50 million) will finally reopen over the to compromise. As in India, the government has continued
next two weeks, with most children back by July to pay teachers’ salaries as they sit at home, so they have
15. Better late than never. Schools in Mexico and Brazil little incentive to get back to work.
resumed in-person teaching weeks earlier. By contrast, in Ivan Duque, Colombia’s president, has bungled his re-
Colombia children have borne one of the longest educa- sponse to the teachers’ agitation. Only 25 percent of Co-
tional lockdowns in Latin America. (India: 57 weeks and lombians have had one Covid-19 vaccine jab, less than in
counting). Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Until recently, many teachers
Mostly this is due to Fecode, the powerful government have indeed not been vaccinated at all. Fitness trainers got
school teachers’ union. It is part of the national commit- their jabs first. For the government, “education is not a pri-
tee that convened anti-government protests that have con- ority,” says Sandra Garcia of the School of Government at
vulsed Colombia since April 28. As thousands took to the Los Andes University in Bogota. Last year, it set aside $106
streets, its members refused to teach for at least 50 days. million of its pandemic emergency budget ($4 billion) to
On July 8, as The Economist went to press, it was planning adapt schools for social distancing. But the measure came

72 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2021