HYDERABAD: The Telangana Gazetted Junior Lecturers Association (TGJLA) has urged the state government not to adopt the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and opposed any move to merge the Board of Intermediate Education with the SSC Board.
A delegation of the association met Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) Secretary Abhilasha Abhinav on Tuesday and submitted a detailed representation outlining its concerns over the proposed changes in the state’s education system.
The association’s state president Dr Vaskula Srinivas and general secretary Dr Kuppishetti Suresh said Telangana should retain its distinct education framework instead of implementing a uniform national model. They alleged that several provisions of NEP 2020 could lead to greater centralisation of education and argued that a common policy may not adequately address the diverse social, cultural and educational requirements of different states.
The association also opposed the three-language formula and expressed reservations over provisions facilitating private universities. It said higher education should continue to be strengthened through public universities and warned that excessive privatisation could make higher education less accessible to economically weaker sections.
The association claimed that more than 10 lakh students pursue Intermediate education every year and said the separate system enabled students to receive specialised instruction in general and vocational courses from dedicated lecturers.
Merging Intermediate education with the SSC Board could dilute the focus on senior-secondary students and create administrative and service-related issues between school and Intermediate education staff and they also argued that Classes 11 and 12 represented a distinct stage in students’ academic and personal development and therefore required a separate educational environment.
According to the association, the TGBIE secretary assured the delegation that its views and recommendations would be brought to the government’s notice.