Centre’s obsession with digital infra ignored students in rural India: Teachers assn

Madurai: The govt's obsession with ‘digital infrastructure' in the 2026-27 budget ignored the ground reality of several students in rural India lacking basic classrooms and electricity, the All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO) said at a conference here on Saturday.More than 1,200 teachers from across the country participated in the 38th edition of the XXXIV Statutory Conference on the theme, "Towards democratic, scientific, inclusive, publicly funded higher education in India."Arun Kumar, general secretary of AIFUCTO, said that the clearance of the Higher Education Commission of India Bill under its rebranded name, Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, marked a decisive and deeply troubling moment for the future of higher education in India. "It undermines the balance by vesting overriding powers in a centrally controlled commission whose regulation requires prior approval of the govt. The bill must be understood in continuity with the NEP 2020, when universities are already grappling with a diluted curriculum, delayed admissions through CUET, and rising costs due to the four-year undergraduate programme," he said.Kumar said that AIFUCTO relentlessly opposed the NEP policy and submitted an ‘alternative policy on higher education' report to the Centre, but there was a unilateral implementation of the NEP. He added that AIFUCTO called upon teachers and state govts to reject the VBSA Bill, 2025.The conference also discussed budgetary allocations. Comparing the 2025-26 budget allocation of 1,21,949 crore as per revised estimates with 1,39,289 crore for 2026-27, AIFUCTO said the increase was negligible due to inflation. Higher education spending was fixed at 55,747 crore, which was almost the same as in 2023-24, they said.The delegates also deliberated on international issues such as the attack on Venezuela, developments in Nepal, violence in Bangladesh, and the ceasefire and Gaza peace plan.