The committee recommended a simplified hierarchy of regulatory bodies without excessive centralisation.
A parliamentary standing committee, in its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (February 4) flagged the “government’s retreat from public education and the increasing influence of neoliberal policies” while noting that most universities, especially those under the central government have a “higher amount of contractual workforce”.
The committee has also expressed concern that the draft Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) bill – that seeks to replace the UGC (University Grants Commission) as a single regulator – will remove state control and “would indirectly fuel privatisation especially in rural areas.”
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh said that as many as “four thousand teachers are employed in Central Universities in temporary posts.”
“This shift away from permanent, secure government jobs towards casual, short-term contracts has been driven by the Government’s retreat from public education and the increasing influence of neoliberal policies,” the committee said.
06/02/2025