Teacher associations and education rights bodies have termed the Tamil Nadu Higher Education department's withdrawal of a directive curbing student participation in political protests and seeking action-taken reports as mere "damage control".
The Tamil Nadu government has issued an explanation notice to Joint Director of Collegiate Education Cynthia Selvi in connection with the directive, prompting the teachers' body to demand its immediate withdrawal.
In a press statement issued on August 22, Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association General Secretary S Suresh objected to the explanation notice issued to Cynthia Selvi over the circular.
He questioned why the joint director was being singled out and held accountable when she was merely implementing administrative instructions forwarded by higher authorities following decisions taken at a high-level state Law and Order meeting.
According to the association, the initial directive was issued by the Special Secretary to the Higher Education department based on the minutes of a Law and Order meeting chaired by the chief secretary on July 28.
The meeting called for interdepartmental coordination among the School Education, Higher Education and Police departments, along with the district administration, to prevent students and youth from participating in protests and agitations organised by left-wing parties and other outfits.
Following the meeting, the Higher Education department on August 14 communicated instructions to the commissioner of Collegiate Education, the director of Technical Education and the registrars of all state universities, asking them to submit an Action Taken Report to the government on or before August 20.
Acting on the departmental directive, Cynthia Selvi forwarded the circular to all arts and science colleges.
The teachers' body pointed out that after the matter triggered controversy, the Higher Education department withdrew the original circular on August 19. The registrar of the University of Madras had circulated the same instruction to all affiliated arts and science colleges, asking them to submit an action-taken report.
"When no explanation was sought from the Special Secretary to the Higher Education department who issued the circular, nor from the university registrar who also forwarded it to colleges, it is baffling why the joint director of Collegiate Education alone is being made a scapegoat," Suresh said in the statement.
Noting that officials at the intermediate level were merely following the departmental hierarchy and implementing instructions received from their superiors, the TNGCTA urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately drop all proceedings against Cynthia Selvi and withdraw the explanation notice issued to her.
Joining the issue, the State Platform for Common School System, Tamil Nadu, asserted that withdrawing the departmental letter alone did not address the threat to academic freedom and campus democracy.
In a statement, SPCSS-TN General Secretary P B Prince Gajendra Babu contended that the core directive recorded in the chief secretary's July 28 minutes and subsequent communications from the Public department remained in effect across other state departments.
"The subordinates merely carried out the directions of their superiors. The council of ministers, headed by the CM, must call for the records and declare the assertions and directions of the chief secretary recorded in the July 28 minutes null and void," Gajendra Babu said, adding that mass peaceful agitations were constitutional expressions of demands for policy reform rather than mere law-and-order infractions.
The forum urged the state government to apprise the Legislative Assembly of the developments.
(With inputs from PTI)