NEP implementation in Himachal Pradesh requires 500 more professors

The 32nd academic conference, organised by the All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO), is ongoing in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The participating delegates from Himachal Pradesh, today, March 18, said that there was a dire need to recruit 500 more professors in colleges to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state.

The office-bearers of the Himachal Pradesh Government College Teachers' Association (HGCTA), in a press release, mentioned that around 100 colleges, out of the total 133 in the state, are without regular principals. They added that 50 colleges are functioning from private premises, while around 30 of them have only two to three professors, as per a report by PTI.

HGCTA General Secretary RL Sharma informed that Himachal Pradesh was going to be the first state to implement NEP in colleges from the current academic session. He, however, cautioned that the implementation of the policy in haste, without the required infrastructure and a sufficient number of teachers, could be disastrous.

"Without proper administration and infrastructure, it is impossible to implement the NEP from this session," Sharma said. He also stressed the need for dialogue and deliberations between teachers and policymakers to chalk out the pros and cons of the policy before its implementation.

At the conference, delegates from across India raised serious concerns over an "onslaught" on higher education "from all corners". "The University Grants Commission (UGC) is issuing notices to hold seminars on topics that are nowhere near to reality and logic," they said.

The theme of the conference is 75 Years of Independence: State of Higher Education in India. It started on March 17 and will go on till 19. More than 2,000 delegates are attending the conference to deliberate on the issues and challenges faced in higher education in the context of the implementation of the NEP 2020, as per PTI.