College teachers demand withdrawal of common syllabus

Madurai: Members of the Joint Action Council of College Teachers (JAC), Tamil Nadu, on Saturday observed a fast in Madurai and Tirunelveli, demanding the state government to withdraw new uniform syllabus of the Tamil Nadu State Council For Higher Education (TANSCHE). The protesters highlighted that TANSCHE has introduced a uniform syllabus policy across the state for all subjects without consultating stakeholders such as educationists or college teacher associations. The JAC called it an attempt to enforce National Education Policy by taking away the autonomy of the state universities. Dr M Nagarajan, convener of JAC, TN, said that following their protests, the TANSCHE has called for talks on July 12.Some of the other demands put forth by JAC include, requesting the state government to issue an order for granting financial benefits under Career Advancement Scheme together with the pending arrears to the teachers of aided colleges, and to immediately provide M Phil and PhD incentives to the college teachers as per the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC).