Teachers Warn Against Tamil Nadu Varsity Bill
The Bill seeks to ease land and approval requirements, paving the way for existing aided colleges to become private universities. Teachers warn that the proposal could end job security, pensions, and the parity they currently enjoy with government employees.
Hyderabad: The Tamil Nadu government’s plan to amend the Private Universities Act, 2019, to permit aided colleges to convert into private universities has triggered disquiet among the teaching community, which views the move as a threat to affordable education and public accountability.
“This is not just a Tamil Nadu issue. Once this model spreads, every public college in India could lose its character,” said N. Praveen, a professor from a university in the city. “Turning aided colleges into private universities means selling institutions built with people’s money.”
The Bill seeks to ease land and approval requirements, paving the way for existing aided colleges to become private universities. Teachers warn that the proposal could end job security, pensions, and the parity they currently enjoy with government employees. “We already face insecurity due to contract appointments and delayed grants,” said V. Bhanu Prakash, a lecturer from a private aided college in Secunderabad. “Privatisation will only worsen conditions for both staff and students.”
Members of the All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO) called the amendment “a dangerous step that will push higher education towards profiteering.” The federation urged other states to oppose similar policies, warning that “once aided colleges are privatised, education will stop being a right and become a privilege.”
Faculty associations in Hyderabad have extended support to AIFUCTO’s stance. “Many of our colleges, too, were built with public grants and community contributions,” said a member of the Telangana State Federation of College Teachers. “We fear that the same idea could take root here under the guise of reform.”
Teacher unions are preparing to submit a joint memorandum to the Telangana higher education department, seeking safeguards for the aided sector. “Education should never be a business,” said a professor from Osmania University. “The Bill may be from Tamil Nadu, but its consequences will reach us all.”