Education must be a public right, not a commodity

The Tamil Nadu Government Aided College Non-Teaching Staff Association organised a seminar here on Saturday in memory of its late president R. Stephenraj.

R. Murali, former Principal of The Madura College, who spoke on 'Changing directions of Higher Education in Tamil Nadu,' warned that Tamil Nadu's higher education sector was facing several crises, and the government appeared to be facilitating the expansion of private and foreign universities instead of strengthening public universities and government colleges.

Asserting that education is not merely a means of obtaining employment, he described it as a vital public resource that fosters independent thinking, scientific temper, social justice, human rights awareness, and democratic values.

He cautioned that the growing tendency to transform education into a commercial service directly threatens the educational rights of students from poor and middle-class backgrounds.

Highlighting the need for academic institutions to remain rooted in their communities, Mr. Murali argued that colleges should not function as isolated knowledge centres disconnected from society. Instead, they should serve as hubs for understanding the history, culture, economy, environment, industries, and livelihoods of the people around them, with every college creating a positive social impact within at least a five-kilometre radius, he added.

He criticised the Tamil Nadu Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes a reduction in the minimum land requirement for establishing private universities -- from 100 acres down to 12 acres within the Greater Chennai Corporation, 18 acres in other municipal corporations and municipalities, and 25 acres elsewhere.

He also pointed out the halving of the permanent endowment fund requirement from ₹50 crore to ₹25 crore, urging the government to provide clear explanations regarding the safeguards it intends to introduce to counteract potential adverse effects on tuition fees, equal access, educational standards, and teachers' job security.

Similar concerns were raised regarding the entry of foreign universities to establish campuses in India, with Mr. Murali emphasising that such moves should not be celebrated blindly as progress without open discussions concerning fee structures, social responsibility, local institutional impact, and educational equality.

Further, he drew attention to the financial backing of the sector, noting that the budgetary allocation for the Higher Education Department for 2026-27 has decreased from ₹8,494 crore to ₹8,393 crore.

He stressed that this reduction demands an immediate explanation, particularly when widespread teacher vacancies, chronic university financial crises, and non-teaching staff shortages need urgent resolution alongside fairer compensation, permanent appointments, and job security for long-serving guest lecturers.

He called for immediate preventative measures coupled with efforts to actively engage students in dialogue to build a deeper institutional understanding of the issue.

Referencing a 2025 statewide survey on drug prevention that covered 4,865 educational institutions, including 1,131 higher education institutions, he said, "The final results detailing the extent of student drug use have still not been released into the public domain. This data must be made public to strengthen targeted prevention, counseling, and mental health support systems."

Reiterating that the fundamental criteria for any educational policy must always be students' right to education and its broader social benefits, Mr. Murali asserted, "Education must remain a fundamental right rather than a commercial commodity; teachers must act as free guides who generate knowledge rather than employees subject to rigid control; students must be nurtured into independently thinking democratic citizens rather than mere competitors chasing marks; and colleges must stand as vibrant public spaces driving social transformation rather than isolated institutional silos."