Former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University E. Balagurusamy welcomed the Tamil Nadu government’s recent initiatives, Illam Thedi Kalvi and Naan Mudhalvan and said they would enhance educational achievements of the State’s youth. At the same time, he was of the view that Tamil Nadu should follow the guidelines of the National Education Policy, 2020 while framing a State Education Policy.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Balagurusamy said, “The recent statement of our Chief Minister that skill-based education and training must be made compulsory in curriculum shows his keen interest in making education employment-oriented than merely degree-oriented,” he said and added that these ideas were “fully contained” in the NEP.
With the NEP being approved by the Parliament and guidelines issued for its implementation, the State may have to follow it to ensure the welfare of its youth, he said. According to him, the State Education Policy must be aligned with the national policy. The NEP is comprehensive, radical and insightful, providing a roadmap to prepare the Indian youth for challenges in the 21st century and “contains nothing against the interests of Tamil Nadu. It is quite doubtful that the proposed committee [for SEP] would be able to produce a policy document better than NEP 2020,” he said.
Mr. Balagurusamy said it would be mandatory for State and Central universities to follow the national guidelines formulated by the standard-setting and regulatory agencies like the UGC, AICTE and NMC, as the Parliament had approved the NEP 2020.
“Unless we follow these guidelines, I am afraid our students might be isolated from the national educational programmes and face problems in recognition, mobility and national employment,” he said.
