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Chennai, Oct 19 (IANS) Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa, Alagappa, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education and Anna University Teachers Association (MUTA) on Sunday strongly opposed the Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Bill passed in the Assembly on October 17, calling it a “threat to free education and social justice”.
In a press statement, MUTA said that while the original 2019 Act had paved the way for private universities, the latest amendment was “far more dangerous”.
The teachers body accused the government of attempting to convert government-aided colleges – which currently receive grants from the state – into private universities, thereby “converting public property into private property”.
MUTA warned that the move would seriously undermine the free education system that allows students from poor and marginalized backgrounds to study in government-aided institutions equivalent to government colleges.
“This bill will deprive students of the opportunity to study under the free education policy and push higher education beyond the reach of the underprivileged,” the statement said.
The association further cautioned that this amendment would turn institutions established by philanthropists for public service into commercial enterprises.
“On the one hand, free education will be abolished, and on the other, student fees will increase, making higher education an unattainable dream. Reservation-based admissions, scholarships and other social justice measures will disappear,” MUTA warned. The policy would “permanently bury social justice”.
MUTA also raised concerns over the loss of administrative transparency, merit-based admissions, legalization of excessive fees, closure of academic programs for profit purposes and decline in state higher education standards.
The association expressed apprehension that teachers and employees would lose their hard-earned rights and benefits.
“Without regulation, appointments will be made at the discretion of private management, putting job security at risk,” it said.
MUTA said the Private Colleges Regulation Act 1976, which regulates the service conditions of teachers and staff, would become obsolete. Benefits such as medical and earned leave, pension, medical insurance and direct salary payments may be withdrawn, the statement said. It also condemned the transfer of infrastructure and intellectual property built through public funds and faculty research into private hands.
Terming the move an “unacceptable atrocity”, MUTA urged the state government to withdraw the amendment in the interest of students, teachers and the society at large.
–IANS
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