March 3, 2015 Press Release

‘Teacher’ as an ‘idea’ has been jeopardized: Prof. Krishna Kumar Critiquing the new liberal ideology that informed higher education system in the country, Prof. Krishna Kumar, an eminent educationist, bemoaned the crisis faced by the university system and said that ‘teacher’ as an ‘idea’ stood compromised. Speaking at the National Convention on “Higher Education at Crossroads” today at Jamia Millia Islamia Prof. Krishna Kumar underlined the foreclosing of the options that were available for teachers. He observed that the metaphor ‘crossroads’ didn’t take away the limitations, that were available in the system, repudiating various options that were implied in the topic of the national convention. He opined that the principle of colonization continued to shape education, as the ‘colonial project’, firstly, took shape in higher education. Prof. Kumar felt that teaching has a relational character as it makes knowledge worthwhile for youngsters. A teacher, he emphasized, creates dignity and preserves certain ethos by entering into an academic relationship to widen the community of learners. The processes of the last few decades, compounded by the recommendations of the Fifth & Sixth Pay Commissions, have only legitimized dispensing with a teacher as a key- person in the education system. It has led to an upsurge in ad-hoc teachers, running into thousands, and created an underclass of subalterns who have served uses for various university administrations. Several states, he observed, have created skewed policies and whatever little room was available for the ‘idea’ of a ‘teacher’ stood dismantled through Academic Performance Indicator (API) System which was a means for making teaching professionals devoid of any dignity. He went on to add that the alliance between big capital, technologies of communication and retrograde principles had taken pernicious forms and the rhetoric of creating world class universities in India has become dominant even as universities are being increasingly disabled to sustain any dialogue or discourse. The word ‘innovation’ too stood compromised, as it has got bereft of its original meaning. He concluded by saying that the new education system had scuttled any relational activities by dissociating knowledge from dedication and felt that no description of the situation was adequate to describe the existing fragmentation that one continues to witnesses in higher education. Earlier, Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia wished that the National Convention of various teachers’ associations would come out with recommendations for policy formulations in respect of higher education. He hoped that deliberations would help create a vision for improving higher education system in India by establishing linkages with society. He said that as Vice-Chancellor, JMI he is always open to engage with teachers to promote access, equity and quality in higher education. Other eminent academicians who spoke on the occasion were Prof. Abad Ahmad, Chairman, Aga Khan Foundation, Prof. Arun Kumar, Prof. Nandita Narain, Prof. M.S. Bhatt and Prof. Badshah Alam. Prof. Arun Kumar pressed for pro-activeness to anticipate the challenges of higher education so that joint action could be offered by the community of teachers.

The Convention has been organized under the aegis of Coordination Committee of Teachers’ Associations of Universities based in Delhi viz. Jamia Teachers’ Association (JTA), Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA), IP University Teachers’ Association (IPTU), Indira Gandhi National Open University Teachers’ Association (IGNOUTA) and Ambedkar University Teachers’ Association (AUTA). Media Coordinator Jamia Millia Islamia

3 ekpZ] 2015

çsl foKfIr

,d ^fopkj* ds :i esa ^f'k{kd* [krjs esa iM+ x;k gS% çks- —".k dqekj

ns'k dh mPp f'k{kk ç.kkyh es lqfoK ubZ mnkjoknh fopkj/kkjk dh leh{kk djrs gq, ,d

ç[;kr f'k{kkfon~] çks —".k dqekj] us fo'ofo|ky; ç.kkyh ds ladV ij nq[k izdV fd;k

vkSj dgk fd ,d ^fopkj* ds :i esa ^f'k{kd* [krjs esa iM+ x;k gSA

vkt tkfe;k fefYy;k bLykfe;k esa ^gk;j ,tqds'ku ,V ØkWljksM~l* ij vk;ksftr

jk"Vªh; lEesyu esa cksyrs gq, çks- —".k dqekj us mu izfrcaf/kr fodYi dks js[kkafdr

fd;k tksfd f'k{kdksa ds fy, miyC/k FksA mUgksaus dgk fd ^ØkWljksM~l* Hkh O;oLFkk esa

ekStwn #dkoVksa dks nwj ugha dj ldk] us'kuy dUosa'ku ds fo"k; esa fufgr dbZ fodYiksa

dk ifjR;kx fd;k x;k gSA mudk fopkj Fkk fd vkSifuosf'kdrk dk fl)kar f'k{kk dk

fu/kkZj.k dj jgh gS] tSls ^vkSifuosf'kd ifj;kstuk* ds :i lcls igys] mPp f'k{kk ds

{ks= dk fu/kkZj.k gqvkA çks- dqekj us eglwl fd;k gS fd f'k{k.k ,d laca/kijd pfj= gS

tks ;qokvksa ds fy, Kku dks lkFkZd cukrk gSA mUgksaus bl ij cy fn;k fd ,d f'k{kd]

'kSf{kd fj'rs esa ços'k djrs gq, lh[kus okyksa ds leqnk; dks foLr`r djus ds fy, xfjek

cuk, j[krk gS vkSj dqN yksdkpkj dks cjdjkj j[krk gSA fiNys dqN n'kdksa dh

çfØ;kvksa] ikaposa vkSj NBs osru vk;ksxksa dh tfVy flQkfj'kksa ds }kjk f'k{kk ç.kkyh esa

f'k{kd dsoy forj.k oS|rk ds fy, ,d çeq[k O;fä ds :i esa izLrqr gqvk gSA blus

gtkjksa rnFkZ f'k{kdksa dh o`f) dh vkSj fofHkUu fo'ofo|ky; ç'kklu ds ekrgr lsok

djus ds fy, ,d fuEu oxZ rS;kj fd;k gSA mUgksaus dgk fd dbZ jkT;ksa esa fo"ke uhfr;ksa

ds dkj.k ^f'k{kd* ds ^foPkkj* dh laHkkouk de gSa vkSj ^vdknfed çn'kZu ladsrd

¼,ihvkbZ½ ç.kkyh f'k{k.k is'ksojksa dks fdlh Hkh xfjek ls jfgr cukus dk ,d lk/ku gSA

mUgksaus dgk fd cM+h iwath] lapkj vkSj ifrr fl)karksa dh çkS|ksfxfd;ksa ds chp xBca/ku

us fo?kkrd :i ys fy;k gS vkSj Hkkjr esa fo'oLrjh; fo'ofo|ky;ksa ds fuekZ.k dh

oØiVqrk çHkkoh gks xbZ gS ;gk¡ rd fd fo'ofo|ky;ksa dks fdlh Hkh ckrphr ;k cgl

dks cuk, j[kus ds fy, rsth ls v{ke fd;k tk jgk gSA

^uokpkj^ 'kCn ls Hkh le>kSrk gks jgk gS] ;g vius ewy vFkZ ls nwj gksus yxk gSA mUgksaus

;g dgrs gq, lekiu fd;k fd ubZ f'k{kk ç.kkyh laca/kijd xfrfof/k;ksa dks foQy djrs

gq, leiZ.k ls Kku dks vyx dj jgh gS vkSj og eglwl djrs gSa fd bl fLFkfr dk

dksbZ Ik;kZIr fooj.k ugha gS tks mPp f'k{kk esa ekStwnk fo[kaMu dk o.kZu djus ds fy,

lk{kh cu ldsA

blls igys çks- ryr vgen] dqyifr] tkfe;k fefYy;k bLykfe;k us dkeuk dh fd

fofHkUu f'k{kd la?kksa dk jk"Vªh; lEesyu mPprj f'k{kk ds laca/k esa uhfr fu/kkZj.k dh

flQkfj'kksa esa enn djsxkA mUgksaus vk'kk O;ä dh fd bl fopkj&foe'kZ ls lekt ds

lkFk laca/kksa dh LFkkiuk ds }kjk Hkkjr esa mPp f'k{kk O;oLFkk esa lq/kkj ds fy, ,d –f"V

iznku djus esa enn feysxhA mUgksaus dgk fd dqyifr] tkfeb ds :i esa og ges'kk

igq¡p] bfDoVh vkSj mPp f'k{kk esa xq.koÙkk dks c<+kok nsus ds fy, f'k{kdksa ds lkFk ds

fy, izLrqr gSaA

bl volj ij oDrO; nsus okys vU; ç[;kr f'k{kkfonksa esa çks- vkckn vgen] v/;{k]

vkx+k [k+ku QkmaMs'ku] çks- v#.k dqekj] çks- uafnrk ukjk;.k] çks- ,e- ,l- Hkê vkSj

çks- ckn'kkg vkye FksA çks- v#.k dqekj us mPp f'k{kk dh pqukSfr;ksa dk vuqeku yxkus

ds fy, lfØ;rk ij t+ksj fn;k rkfd f'k{kd leqnk; ds }kjk la;qDr dkjZokbZ dh

is'kd'k dh tk ldsA

lEesyu dk vk;kstu fnYyh esa fLFkr fo'ofo|ky;ksa ds f'k{kd la?kksa dh leUo; lfefr

vFkkZr~ tkfe;k VhplZ ,lksfl,'ku ¼tsVh,½] fnYyh fo'ofo|ky; f'k{kd la?k ¼MwVk½]

tokgjyky usg: fo'ofo|ky; f'k{kd la?k ¼ts,u;wVh,½] vkbZih ;wfuoflZVh VhplZ

,lksfl,'ku ¼bIVw½] bafnjk xka/kh jk"Vªh; eqä fo'ofo|ky; f'k{kd la?k ¼bXuwVk½ vkSj

vEcsMdj fo'ofo|ky; f'k{kd la?k ¼vkWVk½ ds cSuj rys fd;k x;kA

ehfM;k leUo;d

tkfe;k fefYy;k bLykfe;k