Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association (TNGCTA) has opposed the state govt’s decision to permit the University of Western Australia to establish a campus in Chennai, alleging that the move revealed an attempt to privatise higher education.
Allowing foreign universities to establish campuses in India was one of the key provisions of the National Education Policy, 2020,” said S Suresh, general secretary of the TNGCTA. However, he said the proposed university’s fee structure — ranging from ₹14 lakh to ₹23 lakh — would place it beyond the reach of a large section of students. The University of Madras has only 180 full-time faculty members against a sanctioned strength of 550. Madurai Kamaraj University has 202 professors against 405 sanctioned posts, while Bharathidasan University has 119 faculty members against a sanctioned strength of 230,” Suresh said. Govt arts and science colleges face an even larger shortage, with more than 7,000 teaching posts vacant across 181 institutions, he added.
“Encouraging private and foreign universities without addressing the deficiencies in the public education system is contrary to the principles of social justice,” Suresh said. “The state govt has permitted the University of Western Australia to establish a campus in Chennai, making Tamil Nadu the fourth state in the country – after Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra – to host a foreign university campus. “The amendment bill was passed at a time when state universities and govt colleges are facing a severe shortage of faculty.
The association also criticised the govt for relaxing norms for setting up private universities while failing to fill permanent teaching posts in state universities and govt colleges.