CHENNAI: With no clear direction from the government, state universities, grappling with pressure from central funding agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), have already been implementing several aspects of the National Education Policy (NEP), officials from many universities told TNIE.
The state government, after prolonged delay, released the State Education Policy (SEP) for school education earlier this month. However, the SEP for higher education is yet to be released. This is despite the committee constituted for formulating the SEP, for both school and higher education, submitting its report in July last year.
Meanwhile, several components of NEP have gradually entered state universities in spite of the ruling DMK being vociferous in its opposition to many aspects of the national policy.
For instance, UGC had set a deadline of December 31, 2024, to register with Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), created for seamless recognition and transfer of academic credits of students. A key objective of ABC is to facilitate and promote multiple entry and exit options, an NEP component strongly opposed by the DMK. However, publicly available data showed that 17 of the 22 state universities have already registered and commenced implementation of ABCs.
“If we defied, we would have lost all opportunities to get funding from the UGC,” said an official of University of Madras (UoM), a sentiment echoed by several varsities, citing their dire financial situation.
“Central agencies are increasingly linking financial assistance and recognition to NEP compliance. We face hurdles in getting research grants and infrastructure support otherwise, further weakening an already strained higher education system,” said registrar of a state university, while noting that 14 state universities did not have a vice-chancellor (V-C) at the moment.
Officials said universities like UoM, Madurai Kamaraj, Bharathiar, Bharathidasan and Manonmaniam Sundaranar have renamed their Human Resource Development (HRD) Centres as Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre, owing to push from the UGC as per NEP.
Alagappa University has integrated Indian Knowledge System (IKS), strongly promoted by NEP but largely opposed by the state government. The Tamil department of the university offers courses in temple architecture and temple arts. Similarly, Anna University started offering two courses — Ariviyal Tamil (scientific thoughts and studies in Tamil) and Tamilar Marabu (Heritage of Tamils) since 2023, aligned with IKS of NEP.
University of Madras even decided to launch dual degree programmes, another major component of NEP. However, it decided to postpone the implementation in its recent syndicate meeting, deciding to wait till the release of SEP.
“Universities have to submit annual reports to NAAC including those related to NEP. What will we write if we don’t implement anything? The report will have a direct impact on rating and ranking,” said a V-C of a state university.
Another V-C said barring a few major decisions like four-year undergraduate programmes and the multiple entry and exit system, the majority of the universities have implemented around 70% of the NEP. “However, they have coloured it differently. Some, in the name of curriculum revamping, have included multi-disciplinary courses and outcome-based learning, mandated by NEP,” the official added.
E Balagurusamy, former V-C of Anna University, said prolonged delay in releasing SEP is costing universities dearly. “This is not just a policy delay, it’s an administrative crisis. Universities are directionless, and the students are paying the price,” he alleged.
L Jawahar Nesan, former member of SEP committee constituted by the government, who has been critical of the SEP for school education for its alleged resemblance to NEP, said, “It was nothing close to the promise made by the government for creating a unique visionary policy suiting Tamil Nadu. Hence, institutions should not have much expectation for higher education reforms as well.”
Higher education department officials said the policy will be released soon. “We are in the final stages of reviewing the draft,” said a senior official.