Kerala to host a National Education Conference on February 20 to drum up public and bipartisan political opinion against the UGC’s draft regulations
The Hindu
Kerala government seeks bipartisan support against authoritarian UGC regulations, aiming to control state-funded universities, in national education convention.
The State government has sought politically bipartisan support to mobilise public opinion against the Central government’s “anti-federal and authoritarian” draft University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.
Replying to questions in the Assembly on Thursday, Higher Education Minister R. Bindu said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government would hold a National Education Convention (NEC) in Thiruvananthapuram on February 20.
Also Read | Centralising control: On the Draft UGC Regulations, 2025
She said the NEC would provide a collaborative platform for ministers of [non-Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP)] State governments to voice their concerns about the contentious UGC draft regulations, which Ms Bindu said infringed on federalist principles by seeking to wrest the control of State-funded varsities from the jurisdiction of provincial governments.
Ms Bindu, the convention would host legislators from concerned States, academicians, representatives of student and teacher organisations, opinion leaders, writers, intellectuals and other stakeholders opposed to the UGC’s proposals, which undermined the autonomy of State-funded varsities. The Sankara Narayanan Thampi memorial hall in the Legislative Assembly complex would host the national conference.
Ms Bindu pointed out that the Centre aimed to transform UGC directives’ “recommendatory” nature into “inviolable laws”.
She pointed out that the Centre’s contribution to the state’s higher education sector was negligible.
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