By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,
Kochi:The present education policy of the state government which has an anti-minority nature should change, opined educationists and socio-political leaders in a seminar. The seminar analyzing the education policy of the Left Democratic Front Government of Kerala was organized by the Students’ Islamic Organisation at the Ernakulam Town Hall yesterday.
The Kerala Professional Colleges or Institutions Bill brought by the LDF government could not be made into a law because its provisions were not in accordance with the rights of minorities provided by the Constitution of the country, said Dr KS Radhakrishnan, former, vice-chancellor, Kaladi Sanskrit University. The state government has no right to deny the rights of minorities. The government is trying to kill the diversity in the field of education, he added.
The government is trying, knowingly or unknowingly, to bring communism in education too, said Joseph Vazhakkan, secretary, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. Anti-minority nature is the reason for the failure of the bill on professional colleges. He accused that the level of higher education in the state has gone down to the 18th position in the country.
The topic of negligence towards Malabar should be read along with the fact that a majority of the education ministers of the state belonged to Malabar, said Dr KM Roy, veteran journalist. Universities should be allowed to function freely. The field of education should be saved from unwanted and over-influence of politics. But political will is essential for it, he added.
Lack of will power is the reason for the backwardness of Malabar in spite of having hosted a majority of education ministers, said Yusuf Umari, member, state advisory council of Jamaat-e-Islami. Almost all political leaders kneel before the lobby of bureaucrats. Since government schools are less in number, private groups and religious organizations run a lot of schools in Malabar without any profit-motive. But the government is not ready to give them affiliation. He added lack of transparency on the part of the government is the main reason for the failure of education policies.
The increase of fees in the self-financing colleges sector should be brought down, said MV Jayarajan, member, CPI (M) state secretariat. The LDF government tried to fulfill its promise of ensuring education to all but the court ruled against the Kerala Professional Colleges or Institutions Bill, he added.
Social auditing should be done in the education field, opined M Sajid, general secretary, Solidarity Youth Movement. Programmes should undergo changes as per the audit. He described inefficiency, ideological obstinacy and anti-minority policies as the three major problems in the education field of Kerala. The anti-minority policies can very well be understood in the treatment meted out to Malabar, not only by the present government but by successive governments that came to power in the state, he added.
S Irshad, general secretary, SIO Kerala, was the moderator of the seminar. He gave the introductory and conclusive speeches at the beginning and end of the seminar. U Shaiju gave the note of welcome and Anas A, Ernakulam district SIO president, delivered the vote of thanks.