What is delaying SEP, Tamil Nadu's counter to Centre's NEP? Nobody knows
Fearing a backlash from the Union government, many State-run universities have implemented most aspects of the National Education Policy, including the much-debated Academic Bank of Credit (ABC)
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CHENNAI: Around eight months back, the Justice Murugesan committee had submitted the State Education Policy (SEP) to the Tamil Nadu government. However, till now, there is no clue when SEP will be implemented in the State, even as State-run universities have implemented most of the aspects of National Education Policy (NEP-2020) fearing that the Union Ministry of Education would freeze funding.
Recently, the Union government announced that it had withheld funding of over Rs 570 crore under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for not implementing NEP in school education.
The Union Ministry of Education has also taken measures to develop a new system to evaluate and grade higher educational institutions (HEIs) based on the implementation of the NEP. Now, the UGC is reportedly forcing the universities and colleges to appoint students as NEP ambassadors to create awareness about the policy.
A senior official from the Higher Education Department said, “The State government is firm that the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) proposed in the NEP will not be implemented in State universities till the system matures with transparency, and there is free flow of information to students about courses.”
ABC is a digital system that stores credits students earn throughout their academic journey. It allows them to transfer credits between programmes and institutions and helps them meet degree requirements.
“Multiple Entry and Multiple Exit system (MEME), which was proposed by the Centre, will do more harm than promoting higher education and is contrary to the concept of university education. ‘Break and Rejoin’ the course can be allowed only under special circumstances as per the norms of the respective universities and not as a matter of routine,” he added.
However, University of Madras has implemented the ABC system as a part of NEP, and also released a guide on ABC for both institutions and students.
Justifying the ABC scheme, K Shankarakrishnan, in-charge of implementing the scheme at University of Madras, said, “The UGC will not permit students to any course in distance-learning without ABC. It’s being implemented in many State-run varsities including Anna University. The respective websites have all the details about it.”
The official claimed that without ABC, revenue from distance programme admissions would be nil, and, “the administration will be severely affected. Moreover, all varsities have got official permission from the Higher Education Department to implement ABC”.
Likewise, Anna University is also implementing the MEE system stating it would be a flexible approach to education, as it allows students to enter and exit programmes at various stages, potentially earning certificates, diplomas, or degrees based on their progress and needs.
A senior professor from the university pointed out: “Some State-universities have also trained faculty members about the implementation of NEP.”
Former Anna University vice chancellor E Balagurusamy, said that NEP was insightful and provided a clear roadmap to achieve educational goals. “Laudable objectives of the policy are to enhance the gross enrolment ratio in higher education to 50% by 2035 and to enhance the innovative and research capabilities of Indian varsities and institutions, thereby enhancing the national technical capability.”
However, he also agreed that it was practically impossible to implement its recommendations across the country though it was correct in principle. “The UGC, in a hurry to implement NEP, has also announced a slew of initiatives in higher education without proper thought, preparation and planning. For instance, measures like increasing online admissions to improve gross enrolment ratio, introducing double degree programmes to enhance employability and inviting foreign varsities to India are detrimental to the quality of the education,” he opined.
P Ratnasabapathy, president, State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) said that UGC was only a guiding body and at the most, could withhold grants for not accepting guidelines. “The UGC has no power to impose a penalty for non-compliance of its guidelines. The threat to remove varsities from the UGC list and barring them from offering degree programmes is beyond the mandate of the commission,” he stated.
