From Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand to former VCs and retired professors, all those who will formulate TN's State Education Policy 

There is also Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna; Dr Aruna Ratnam, former education expert with UNICEF and many other notable names from various fields  
Here's the list | (Pic: Edexlive)
Here's the list | (Pic: Edexlive)

With the intention of formulating a State Education Policy (SEP), the Government of Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday, April 5, appointed a high-level committee of experts as well as educationists. The idea is to keep in mind the historical legacy, current situation and future aspirations of the state.

D Murugesan, a retired judge of Madras High Court, is heading the committee and they have been requested to formulate the State Education Policy within a year.   

Retired professor and former Saveetha University Vice-Chancellor L. Jawahar Nesan; retired professor R Ramanujam from The Institute of Mathematical Sciences; members of the State Planning Commission, retired professor Sultan Ismail and professor Rama Sreenivasan; Dr Aruna Ratnam, former education expert with UNICEF; writer S Ramakrishnan; chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand; Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna; educationists S Madasamy and Thulasidas; R Balu, headmaster, panchayat union middle school, Kichankuppam in Nagapattinam district and Jayasree Damodaran of Agaram Trust are the members of the committee.

"Many education policies have been devised and implemented in the past in the country to improve the knowledge of the younger generation. Since the scientific age is growing every second, there are many innovations in education. So, the science of today becomes old tomorrow. As such, there is a need for devising new educational plans," said a press release.

But this has triggered a mixed bag of reactions from both educationists and academicians. 

"Finally the committee has been formed to formulate SEP and we welcome it. The committee should come out with a holistic policy, which is the need of the hour. The Union government is aggressively implementing National Education Policy through AICTE and UGC, so we should work on SEP on a war-footing," said Prince Gajendra Babu, General Secretary, State Platform for Common School System.

But, former Anna University Vice-Chancellor, E Balagurusamy, shared the committee is not well-constituted. "I genuinely feel a committee formed to frame the SEP should be headed by a leading academician, who has in-depth knowledge on the topic, but the same has not been followed in this committee. This committee is headed by a judge. The government should have included leading academicians and educationists in the committee, who have immense experience and have worked on the grassroot level, for their valuable contribution," said Balagurusamy.

Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi agreed. "In order to formulate the best SEP, which can make the future of our students better and leave them employable, we need to have an understanding of the market needs. Technical experts, people from the industry side should have been included in the committee," said Gandhi.

Others, however, said the committee appeared to represent all sections of society. "From a school teacher to an artist to a sportsperson, people from different sections have been included in the committee. It is also welcome that the committee has been given one year to formulate the policy, which will ensure they are not working under any pressure," said a vice-chancellor of a university, who wished not to be named.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
EdexLive
www.edexlive.com