Expressing concern over education continuing to remain in the concurrent list, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday, 11 March, alleged that the Union government is exercising its powers to "push its regressive views in the syllabus." He stated that bringing education back to the state list was the right solution.
"It's a concern that the Union government is exercising its powers to use education to thrust its regressive views. Bringing education back to the state list will be the best solution to stop this."Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin
Addressing a conference of vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of universities in the country’s southern states, Stalin said the people of Tamil Nadu want the universities in the state to function as per its own education policy.
Emphasise on Imparting Skill-Based Education in the Curriculum: CM
CM Stalin also emphasised on imparting skill-based education and training in the curriculum.
“Currently, universities are functioning with the aim to produce graduates and get good rank in national and international assessments. But I would like to remind everyone that we have a bigger responsibility to equip students to become job-ready,” the Chief Minister said.
He reiterated the state’s ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme that was inaugurated on 1 March with the aim to identify, train and offer career and academic guidance to over 10 lakh youth in government-run and State-aided educational institutions annually. It also aims to offer spoken English lessons to enable students to face interview panels successfully. The scheme will offer training capsules in coding and robotics to keep pace with technological advancements.
TN’s Gross Enrolment Ration Double the National Average
Asserting that all the universities in Tamil Nadu functioned by “encouraging facts backed by rational and scientific methods,” the Chief Minister said he was proud his state excels in higher education.
He highlighted that Tamil Nadu’s gross enrolment ratio in higher education was double the national average. In 2019-20, the state stood at 51.4%, compared to the national average of 27.1%.
“In the national institutional ranking framework of 2020-21, 19 universities and 33 colleges from Tamil Nadu are in the first 100 ranks,” he said. He added that there are 1,553 colleges, 52 government and private universities, besides 1,096 industrial training institutions.
He argued that the state has provided 7.5% reservation for government school students in professional and medical courses “to help those from humble backgrounds to reach greater heights.”
Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi had said that “90% of Indians who study medicine abroad fail to clear qualifying exams in India.” CM Stalin retorted that the Union government should stop 'blaming' students. He stated that NEET is a stumbling block to pursuing medical education within the country and said getting NEET rescinded must be the immediate goal.
“Former CM Kalaignar (late M Karunanidhi) abolished entrance exams, which acted as a hindrance to professional courses and helped those from humble backgrounds to reach greater heights,” he said.
He added that, "The government’s aim is to eradicate slavery of women and empower them to be socially and economically independent. Education is the key to attaining it. Tamil Nadu stands first in the country in women’s empowerment by opening many women’s colleges, giving approval for co-education institutions, creating a separate university for women, fee concession for women students in UG, PG and PhD courses, training institutions for all-India services aspirants, and offering computer training for employability.”
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