Though the budget speech said foreign universities may be allowed into Kerala, the ruling CPI(M) appears to be a divided house on the issue.
TP Sreenivasan after being attacked by an SFI activist in 2016. (Supplied)
A sucker punch knocked down former diplomat-turned-educationalist TP Sreenivasan at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram on 30 January, 2016.
Eight years after he was sent down sprawling on the asphalted road, Sreenivasan now has reason to smile and force the then-district joint secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI) Sarath to do some soul-searching — or find solace in Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ dictum that “the only constant in life is change”.
Whatever Sarath — and the SFI — might now do, television visuals of Sreenivas, then aged 71, straining to get back on his feet would remain fresh in the collective memory of Kerala.
Sreenivasan was the vice-chairman of the Kerala Higher Education Council under the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government when he organised a two-day global education summit in the tourism hotspot Kovalam.
Among the items on the agenda was a discussion on the possibilities of allowing campuses of foreign and private universities in Kerala. This particular item infuriated the SFI, the CPI(M)’s student wing, and sent Sreenivas down on the road even as a large number of police personnel looked on.
The SFI was then protesting the move to “accelerate the commercialisation of higher education”.
“They aimed to cancel the summit at any cost, but I continued with the agenda as the unexpected attack did not badly hurt me. People might have differences,” Sreenivasan recalled when South First contacted him
“I never thought a student leader would hit me in the face all of a sudden, even though I did not provoke him.”
The sucker punch was not the one that shocked Sreenivasan.
The then-CPI(M) secretary Pinarayi Vijayan told television channels that the party did not consider the diplomat as an academic expert. The Chandy government had appointed him to commercialise the state’s higher education sector.
Eight years later, on 5 February, the Vijayan-led government proposed to allow private and foreign universities to set up campuses in the state.
The proposal was made in the state Budget 2024-25, ignoring the objections of the SFI and the CPI(M)’s Central Committee that has been pushing for more government investment in the higher education sector to facilitate better access for students from poor families.
“I congratulate Vijayan for this bold step, which is long overdue. And in the process, he will not mind the objections of the student wing and the national leadership. Such a course correction is inevitable in the changing world situation, and no state can turn away from the grave realities around them,” Sreenivasan said.
TP Sreenivasan. (Indian Navy/Wikimedia Commons)
Soon after Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced the move in the state Assembly, photographs of CPI(M)’s “living martyr” Pushpan flooded social media.
Pushpan was injured in police firing at Koothuparamba near Kannur on 25 November, 1994. A Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) worker, he was protesting against the then minister of cooperation, MV Raghavan, for facilitating the state’s first self-financing medical college at Pariyaram in Kannur.
While five DYFI workers were killed in the alleged unprovoked firing, six others, including Pushpan, were injured. Pushpan’s injuries, however, confined him to bed for good.
The CPI(M) later diluted its opposition to self-financing colleges. Pushpan’s brother joined the BJP, protesting against the CPI(M)’s tacit understanding with Raghavan.
Balagopal’s Budget presentation, his fourth, once again put Pushpan in the limelight. After the Budget proposed to allow foreign universities, a hashtag campaign was unleashed on social media.
“#Pushpane Ariyille, Nammude Pushpane Ariyille (Don’t you know Pushpan, our Pushpan),” the campaign raised the question.
“Finance Minister Balagopal, who presented the Budget, was a powerful SFI leader when the Koothuparamba firing happened. He and many of his Cabinet colleagues were highly vocal against private investments in the higher education sector,” former SFI leader CP John, who later joined Raghavan when he floated the Communist Marxist Party (CMP), after his ouster from the CPI(M).
“It’s better late than never, as the world is changing and the students in Kerala can access better education from world-class facilities,” John told South First.
File photo of Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal. (KNBalagopalCPIM/Facebook)
Kerala has witnessed massive student protests, mainly by SFI, in the past 40 years whenever successive governments attempted to ensure private capital flow into the higher education sector.
Historian Dr Rajan Gurukkal was one of the staunchest opponents of foreign investments in the higher education sector. As Higher Educational Council vice chairman, Gurukkal has now welcomed foreign universities, saying they can enhance the quality of education in the state with better infrastructure.
The case was the same with R Bindu, once a powerful SFI leader and now the Minister for Higher Education.
However, the CPI(M) move has already created a crisis within the party. Many leaders privately said the proposal was not discussed in any of the party forums.
There are reports that the party’s Central Committee was unhappy over the recommendation and that it would intervene in the matter soon. The Mathrubhumi daily quoted Nilotpal Basu, the CPI(M) Politburo member handling higher education-related affairs, as saying that the party has a clear position on allowing foreign universities.
“I am yet to delve deep into the budget proposal. The party would go through the proposal,” he reportedly said.
On Wednesday, 7 February, the CPI(M) Politburo issued a detailed statement opposing the UGC recommendations to facilitate foreign university campuses in the country by allowing them to fix the fee structure, appointing teachers, and ensuring autonomy. It said such a move would affect the sovereignty of the country.
Balagopal’s Budget said Kerala would welcome foreign and private universities as per the recommendations of the UGC, and a host of subsidies would be provided to them. They included water, power, single-window clearance, stamp duty waivers, tax exemptions, and subsidies.
Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu. (Sourced)
Incidentally, Balagopal’s statement contradicted Bindu, who on 1 February said the new UGC policy welcoming foreign universities would further commercialise the higher education sector, and only third-grade universities would come to India, further eroding the quality of education.
Meanwhile, SFI state president VK Anusree told South First that her organisation would continue to oppose the move and would stand for stringent norms to regulate the existing private universities in the country. She said there must be no economic discrimination at the higher education level.
Meanwhile, Bindu offered a different version. She said the Budget proposal was made after extensive discussions and careful thought.
“Eighty percent of Kerala’s higher education institutions are private. They also have good quality. Foreign universities working under government regulations would further boost the state’s prospects. Even foreign students would come to Kerala to pursue their studies,” she said.
Later on Wednesday, however, Higher Education Minister R Bindu said that the LDF Government has taken not taken a final decision on welcoming foreign and private universities in the state and that the finance minister had just indicated that possibilities would be explored.
“As far as the finance minister is concerned, he spoke about the financial aspects of such possibilities while presenting the budget. He announced that such possibilities will be explored… not that a final decision has been taken (in this regard),” Bindu said.
When foreign universities are permitted in the state’s higher education sector, several aspects, including whether they have any commercial interests or whether students are exploited, have to be examined.
“We can do anything after ensuring all these things,” the minister added.
Bindu’s reaction came a day after Left student outfits, including the SFI and AISF, took strong exception to the budget proposal on foreign and private universities and expressed concern regarding their arrival.
SFI’s Anushree said its members would hold discussions with the government and convey their concerns. She said if private universities come into being in the state, the government should be able to regulate their operations.
When reporters asked about SFI’s reaction, Minister Bindu said as a students’ outfit, it is their responsibility to inform the government about their concerns and obtain assurance from the authorities in this regard.
She also declined to give a clear answer as to whether the Higher Education Department was informed in advance about the remarks on foreign and private universities made in the budget.
“I am not interested in giving any explanation about the policy-related issues,” she said.
Criticising the media, she also asked why they were showing so much interest and concern in the issue.
Bill with CMO?
Meanwhile, news reports said the Higher Education Department has forwarded to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) a Bill allowing private universities to establish campuses in the state and offer degree to PhD — including Engineering and Medical — courses.
The Bill was sent to the CMO after incorporating the recommendations of the state Legal Department, including ensuring reservation to students from backward classes, as mandated by the Indian Constitution, Malayala Manorama reported.
The report further said that the Bill would be placed before the Cabinet, and presented to the Assembly in its next session.
(With PTI inputs)
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