The Indian government in its last financial budget had decided to increase its spending on education by up to 7% in 2013 as compared to the last fiscal year. In such a situation it may seem that the rise in expense on education is fair enough considering the current global and national financial state. But sadly enough, this is not what is currently viable for the nation’s educational requirements as per the revered organization of All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organizations (AIFUCTO).
The general secretary of AIFUCTO, Ashok Burman is of the opinion that India does not spend enough percentage of its GDP in the field of education. “Public spending on education in India must get an immediate boost at once”, said the general secretary.
These words are excerpts from the meeting of AIFUCTO held at Vasvik Hall in Vadodara over which he presided. It was the event of AIFUCTO’s executive council meeting that was being hosted by M S University’s Baroda University Teachers’ Association.
Burman also expressed that India lags behind in the educational sector vastly owing to the lack of funding which is a major flaw in the nation’s policy making. “Currently, less than 2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is being spent on education in the entire country. The spending needs to be at least 6-7% percent of the nation’s net GDP,” stated Burman with utter concern in his thoughts.
Burman has also harped on the fact that the increased privatization of the country’s educational system is not helping the masses at all especially the poorer sections of the nation. The poor cannot afford costly education while they are at constantly in dire need of food and the basic amenities for living. The education for the poor must come cheap and hence its reins must remain with the government.
As the exponential rise in mushrooming of private educational institutions continues, AIFUCTO fears that the lack of proper regulatory mechanism will do more harm than good for the system. This is an area of great concern for the education system in the country.
AIFUCTO also expressed displeasure over the attitude of many a state governments towards the teachers. They also criticized the apathetic attitude of the Gujarat government for non-payment of the arrears of the 6th Pay Commission to the teachers. Besides, many teachers are also not benefitting from career advancements schemes.
The motive of convening the meeting was to discuss key issues pertaining to university teachers across the nation. The meet was a roaring success with more than 60 delegates from 15 different sates attending the event representing various state level universities and individual college teacher associations and federations.
An assortment of issues related to higher education, vacancy of teachers in various universities and colleges, anomalies in pay commissions, instilling democratic approach in education and inter-disciplinary research in individual college and universities were discussed. At the end of the day, the results and recommendations emerging out of the meeting were largely satisfactory in nature.
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