Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) hosted an Iftar get-together with leading education experts and research scholars on April 12 to discuss future of higher education in the country in the wake of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Former Delhi University Professor Madhu Prasad raised alarm about the direction of higher education. “The Fundamental paradigm shift from a welfare state to a neo-liberal state has altered the dynamics of education. Education is no longer a process of social change and progress, but carries a myopic vision of skills and jobs to boost the economy,” she said. Further commenting on the impact of NEP on higher education, she said the idea of ‘one language, one religion and one nation’ is being forcefully rammed down, undermining the plurality and enforcing homogeneity and a centralized vision of education.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Assistant Professor Suresh Babu expressed his dismay with the way the NEP circumvented parliamentary oversight, discussion and scrutiny. “The NEP document hailed as an indigenous document to revive the past glory is a copy of American system, and thus further exposes the hypocrisy and hiding behind the smoke screen of fancy words like multi-disciplinary, inter and holistic learning without the clarity of concept or roadmap,” he said. He also raised the concern the dropouts could be treated as a legitimate phenomenon in the guise of easy entry and exit option at every stage.

Professor Jaseem Ahmed, Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia, was concerned with the lack of clarity and coherence in NEP. He was also critical with the attitude of implementing policies without giving the space for discussion and deliberation.

Adv. Fawaz Shaheen, Director, Centre for Educational Research and Training (CERT), said that there are lot of apprehensions surrounding NEP. “The commercialization and blanket privatization pose a significant threat to the education eco-system. The Byju’s sponsoring Indian cricket team exemplifies how the revenue and capital intensive industry education has turned into,” he said. He further highlighted the need to locate the policy in the larger framework of present regime’s idea of education and equity.

This Iftar Get-Together and is part of a series of meetings during the month of Ramadan to connect with people from different walks in society, including academicians, students, researchers, members of civil society. Students and research scholars from various universities were also present on the occasion along with members of SIO’s central leadership.