Chief Minister of Puducherry, V Narayanasamy today claimed that the government of union territory is against the idea of replacing University Grants Commission (UGC) with a new regulatory body. Replying to a question asked by the leader of the opposition, the chief minister told, “We will not accept the plan to set up the ‘Higher Education Commission of India’ in the place of the UGC.”
He further added, “We will not accept the plan to set up the ‘Higher Education Commission of India’ in the place of the UGC.” He also added that he will forward a detailed letter to the Union HRD Ministry regarding this. According to Narayanasamy said the Centre has been depriving the states of their rights by some measure or the other.
“The UGC has been functioning well as an independent authority and the Centre cannot intervene in its functioning. The proposed Higher Education Commission would sanction funds according to the whims and fancies of the Centre, so the territorial government is opposed to the proposal,” the Chief Minister noted.
“Education Minister R. Kamalakannan also said the territorial government would never accept any move to replace the UGC. We oppose it,” he said. Earlier, Narayanasamy said his government would bring during the next Assembly session a Bill allotting 50 per cent of seats in private medical colleges here for local students. This led to the AIADMK staging a walkout, as the party, legislator Anbalagan said any delay in the tabling of the Bill would only aggravate sufferings of the students, and took strong exception to the Chief Minister’s statement that the Bill would be tabled only in the next session.
PTI Inputs
