AUCT terms upcoming conference on excellence in higher education a ‘hypocritical celebration’

Amritsar, July 28

The Association of United College Teachers (AUCT), which consists of teachers from private and affiliated colleges, has termed an upcoming conference on Excellence in Higher Education by the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE), Punjab, a ‘hypocritical celebration’ as colleges across the state suffer from loss of students.

The backlash comes after the DHE’s issuing a letter to the principals of all colleges in the state asking them to attend a conference on July 29 to celebrate “excellence in higher education” being held at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The event is going to be addressed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains.

While the event aims to highlight achievements of the higher education sector in the state, the AUCT has called for a realistic approach as it has pointed out a crisis in higher education across the state.

Does “academic excellence” mean fleecing students by the colleges by charging arbitrarily determined fees flouting the universities’ instructions? Teaching fraternity across the state is still waiting for wage hike under the 7th Pay Commission, while several private colleges are on the verge of closure due to decreasing enrolments of students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses,” said Tarun Ghai, a member of the AUCT, Punjab.

Teachers from private colleges in the state have been alleging financial exploitation by college managements while no new recruitments are being done as mass student migration from the state to countries like Canada, Australia and the UK have led to low enrolments. “The fact that higher education policy needs reform and progressive change, we need to retain the youth choosing to fly out of the state if we need to save higher education. The increasing costs of higher education and decreasing number of students is creating a crisis that need immediate solutions, not ambitious discourse that leads to nowhere,” added Ghai.