Thiruvananthapuram: A conclave of many former Vice Chancellors, educational experts and other dignitaries unanimously expressed their support to the Governor who is also the Chancellor, in his resolve to reform the educational system in Kerala. A resolution was passed which was presented by Dr. Madhusudanan Pillai to resolve the current crisis in the field of higher education and expressing support for the bold steps taken by the Governor in this regard.
The discussions during the conclave highlighted the attacks on Governor (Chancellor), by the student organization of the ruling government, for taking a strong stand against the atrocities of the ruling party. The Governor had made vehement discretion to turn senates and syndicates into forums of democracy and pluralism. Without respecting the Governor’s constitutional esteem, the student organization of the ruling government tried to confront him in the streets. It said, such trends will delimit the prospects of Kerala to become a knowledge hub.
The resolution passed by the forum states that:
- This conclave vehemently supports the Hon. Governor for his laudable interventions in order to enhance quality in Higher Education and also put an end to the authoritarian tendencies prevalent in universities.
- This gathering solely supports the Hon. Chancellor in his initiatives and condemns the unlawful attacks over the constitutional Head of the State.
- Stringent actions to control the deterioration of the Higher Education institutions through proper and systematic measures should be taken.
- The conclave also recommended that the National Educational Policy should be implemented in Kerala at the earliest.
The conference that was held at Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on the topic of contemporary issues and policies in the higher education sector in Kerala was inaugurated by former ambassador TP Sreenivasan, IFS. He said that the field of higher education is full of crisis. The road map for the higher education sector prepared under his leadership while he was the Vice Chairman of the Education Council is still not fully implemented. Infrastructure development, use of information technology, many proposals for teacher training, autonomy of institutions and industrialization of education remains mere proposals. There are still no plans to utilize private funds in the education sector.
Dr N Radhakrishnan, Former Campus Director of Delhi University Gandhi Bhavan, Dr A Jayakrishnan, Former Vice Chancellor of Kerala University, Dr G Gopakumar, Former Vice Chancellor of Kerala Central University, Kasaragod, Dr M Abdul Salam, Former Vice Chancellor of Calicut University and others spoke on various topics.
Dr. N. Radhakrishnan pointed out the incident where even Vallathol poems were rejected by the university. Dr. A. Jayakrishnan commented that the vacancy of vice-chancellors in universities gives more opportunity for political interference.
Dr. G Gopakumar opined that the campus politics in Kerala is a big reservoir and only a few can reach the top of it. Most of the students fall into its trap and get cheated. Campus politics has contributed to bringing Kerala politics to a level where there is no professionalism in politics.
Dr. Abdul Salam said on the occasion that the Governor of Kerala is facing the same crisis as he experienced when he was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calicut. He also opined that both general society and academic community should support the courageous actions of the Governor. He declared his full support for the governor’s steps to clean up the academy arena.
Dr. P. M. Malini, former Principal, NSS Training College, Pandalam, presided over the conference. The convenor of the organizing committee Mr. Raghunath V gave the welcome speech and Prof. V. Subhash Kumar, former senate member of Kerala University, expressed the vote of thanks.
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