Kerala Higher Education: The decline from meritocracy to mediocrity could soon become irreversible

Politicisation of Kerala’s higher education sector has had detrimental effects, impacting everything from admission and evaluation of students to appointments at the top rungs.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s vision is to convert the state into a hub for higher education. Aligning with this, the Communist Party of Indian (Marxist) had, in its 2021 election manifesto, put forth a 40-point plan for the enhancement of the higher education sector. However, instead of witnessing progress, the state’s higher education sector has been overshadowed by a series of controversies over the past two years.

Accusations of favouritism and nepotism have emerged regarding the selection of vice chancellors and associate professors in state universities. In a big embarrassment for the ruling party, Maharaja’s College, a government autonomous institution, has been accused of passing the state leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students’ wing of the CPI(M), who had not turned up for semester exams. Another incident involved a former SFI leader who was caught allegedly fabricating an experience certificate to secure a teaching position, after previous successful attempts at such deception.

Not Education This

The state government’s responses to controversies raise concerns. Earlier, the Chief Minister and other ministers had escalated a dispute with the state governor over the appointment of vice chancellors and associate professors, in whose selection the cabinet had no role to play. In the present case, the police were quick to file a first information report (FIR) against the principal for conspiracy and forgery in the Maharaja’s College incident, amidst the college’s admission that the wrong result was caused by a technical error.

When merit goes out the window, an atmosphere of high-handedness takes hold. Even if erroneous, a result sheet published by a government autonomous college cannot be a “forged” document. While the police lodged an FIR against a journalist for reporting the news live, their attempts to nab the former student leader whose experience certificate was actually “forged”  have reached nowhere. If that was not enough, the CPI(M) state secretary stood exposed when he issued a warning of legal action if the media engaged in reporting that is perceived as anti-CPI(M) or anti-SFI.

Politicisation of Kerala’s higher education sector has had detrimental effects, impacting everything from admission and evaluation of students to appointments at the top rungs. Aside from harming the reputation of the state as a centre of excellence, these unethical practices have also jeopardised the prospects of native students.

Saving Academia From Politicians

A degree certificate from even the most reputed university in Kerala is rapidly devaluing outside the state. The state is aware of the fact that those seeking quality education are already opting to leave, further exacerbating the situation.

For political parties, institutions of higher education are breeding grounds for political continuity rather than centres of academic excellence. They seek to maintain their political influence by relying on those designing courses, teachers, and student leaders as conduits. Consequently, faculty and students they favour will get unfair advantages, their merit notwithstanding.

The irony is, to realise Vijayan’s stated vision, universities must be freed from the clutches of politicisation. Vice chancellor and faculty appointments should follow University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The constitution of academic councils, boards of studies, syndicates, and senates should be devoid of political considerations. Granting autonomy to colleges should come with stricter conditions to ensure accountability and integrity.

A systemic process should be established, for the realignment of seat allocation for courses and research. Transparency can be ensured only if information is readily accessible to the public. To prevent closed-door deals in appointments, universities should publish the results of qualifying rounds, rather than requiring other candidates to resort to the Right to Information (RTI) route. Participation of academicians and experts in core university programmes is essential to empower students to become guardians of their own future.

Flight Of Talent

Rather than becoming a hub for higher education, the state has unfortunately transpired into a hub for flights to quality education abroad. Further politicisation will only intensify the outflow, leaving behind a residue of mediocrity to precipitate. That, by no means, is the true purpose of education.

A resolute government must first order a thorough investigation into all allegations regarding appointments and results, which might end up as a distant dream as no government would be magnanimous enough to do that, and even if they do, the protests from professional unions would undermine that effort.

If the state does not show intent to fulfil its vision, there’s no reason why higher education should remain under its control. Privatisation is far better than meritless people further clogging up a system that is already entrenched in favouritism and nepotism.

Sreejith Panickar is a Kerala-based political commentator. Twitter: @PanickarS. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.