New Delhi, Jan 22: Teacher`s unions of several universities including Delhi, Hyderabad and the North East are on strike today to protest against the government`s decision to withdraw funds and make universities self-financing.
The University Grants Commission also wants to impose a model code.
The strike is being led by the Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association (FEDCUTA), which represents 18 top universities in India and has been joined by teacher`s associations from individual universities.
The teachers say the provisions of the new Act - like holding a common entrance test for professional courses for all universities - will eat into the autonomy of these institutions.
"It is neither feasible nor desirable. Central universities are not for academic homogeneity but were primarily developed as centres of excellence. They want to regimentalise the entire system because they want to monitor their ideology. And that is something that must be fought against," said Tapas Ranjan Saha, a teacher at Delhi University.
Besides teachers, several student unions like the All India Students Association (AISA) have come out in full support of the strike.
Bureau Report