Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) has raised concerns over the recently held Common University Entrance Test (CUET), calling it “chaotic, and irresponsible”. The teachers association alleged that CUET entails the erosion of varsity’s autonomy.
According to the official statement, the JNU teachers association representatives, in a press conference, alleged that CUET based system is creating insurmountable losses in the field of teaching and learning for current and future generations, besides causing irreparable harm to democratic and participative governance in the university.
The statement said that the JNUTA teachers spoke about the adverse impact of the CUET-based system of admissions on JNU’s educational programmes. “The existence of the CUET has ensured that no decision about admissions can be taken within the university anymore, thus effectively undoing of Parliament,” JNUTA said. The teachers also added that the test will “eviscerate the university acts”.
“With unsynchronised semesters, students in two intersecting semesters cannot opt for the entire range of courses being offered in the university at the time! For programmes whose curriculum or syllabi crucially relies on the cross-listing of courses, this has proved disastrous,” the JNUTA said.
Further, the statement mentioned that professor Ayesha Kidwai, JNU, while speaking at press conference said that the university caters to poor students and the delay in admissions has impacted the education of such students.
“About half of our students are from rural India, hailing from families with incomes less than Rs 12,000 a month, and are women. The delay in admissions in universities participating in the CUET has effectively caused a break in these students’ education. For those students amongst these who would be relying on university fellowships to sustain themselves and their families, the lack of admissions may, in all likelihood, push them out of the education system altogether. With one stroke, the youth dividend, we often taken pride in, goes to waste,” Kidwai said.
“The primary reason why JNU finds itself in such a disastrous situation is the complete collapse of JNU’s statutory bodies, mainly due to the previous administration,” she added.
With inputs from PTI
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