Central university teachers demand roll back of National Education Policy

NEW DELHI: The Federation of Central Universities Teachers' Associations (FEDCUTA) on Wednesday organised a workshop at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here and reiterated its demand to roll back the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The workshop highlighted the "negative impact" of NEP 2020 on the Indian education system, including the commercialization of education, erosion of academic standards, and declining inequitable access to higher education, according to an official statement.

The participants, comprising faculty members from central and state universities in Delhi and other states, opposed the implementation of the NEP, the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), and assigning of election duties to university teachers, it said.

Speaking to PTI, FEDCUTA president Moushumi Basu said, "All organizations participating in the workshop resolved to intensify their struggle for scrapping of the NEP and reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme, among other issues." Surajit Mazumdar, professor of economics at JNU, said, "UPS does not offer teachers and other employees the guarantee of a secure post-retirement life, which is an essential condition that has to be met if a lifetime commitment to dedicated service in public employment is expected." The workshop also discussed the issue of election duties to university teachers, which FEDCUTA strongly opposes.