KOCHI: Former education minister and CPM politburo member M. A. Baby on Tuesday came out against the state government’s policy of granting autonomy to colleges saying that by conferring such statuses, the education system was being commodified.
Inaugurating a convention held at the Maharaja’s College centenary auditorium in protest against granting autonomy to the college, he said the education system should be designed in such a way that it benefited all the sections of the society.
“If an institution is given autonomous status, it would become a business enterprise. This would pave way for FDI in the education sector, lifting the fee for different courses,” he said.
He openly stated that if the institution is given autonomy, various departments at Maharaja’s which had contributed much to the development of the college would be completely neglected.
He also called upon the students and teachers to resort to novel ways of protests till the government withdrew its decision.
Speakers argued that almost 429 colleges were conferred autonomy in the country but none of the institutions could make any difference to the education scenario.
Colleges such as St. Stephen’s Delhi and Malabar Christian College have opted to reject the autonomous status as the restructuring cost is purely borne by the institutions themselves and the government does not support the needs of the institution, it was pointed out.
They also said that certain colleges had been collecting high fees from the students after becoming autonomous. They will create a situation where only the rich can have access to education.
Prof. M.K Sanu presided over the meet attended by around 150 students and 50 teachers. Dr Sebastian Paul, ex-MP, also spoke. A human chain around the college with the slogan ‘Save Maharaja’s’ will be formed soon and a memorandum will be sent to the Governor.
