Mumbai University faces heat over NEP rollout, protesters detained

Tensions are escalating at the University of Mumbai following a standoff between the university administration and a group of senate members and college teachers The agitation stemmed from what the Senate members called the ldquohaphazardrdquo implementation of the National Education Policy NEP 2020On Tuesday 18 senate members affiliated with Yuva Sena UBT and the Bombay University and College Teachersrsquo Union BUCTU were detained by the police after protesting outside the universityrsquos Fort campus They were later releasedThe protest took place at the entrance of the Fort campus where registered graduate Senate members from Yuva Sena and teacher constituency members from BUCTU staged a dharna sitin protest The university administration with police support attempted to suppress the demonstration and all protestors were taken to Azad MaidanldquoThe university has ignored our concerns The rushed introduction of interdisciplinary and cocurricular courses is reducing the weightage of core subjects ultimately affecting studentsrsquo employabilityrdquo said a senior BUCTU member Protesters also criticized the sidelining of Environmental Science a subject mandated by the Supreme CourtIn a joint statement the protesters stated ldquoThe haphazard introduction of interdisciplinary and cocurricular courses without adequate preparation during NEP implementation is reducing the importance of core disciplines Several colleges are arbitrarily offering existing core subjects like Mathematics EVS and Business Economics as optional affecting quality educationrdquoTeachers claim that the changes have disrupted workloads and forced faculty members to teach subjects outside their expertise especially in departments already suffering from staff shortages Protesters also condemned a university circular issued in September 2024 which prohibits any individual or organisation from holding demonstrations without prior permissionWe were detained by the police for protesting This incident clearly highlights the discriminatory attitude of the university administration Just two months ago members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP held a twodaylong protest at the Kalina campus but not a single police officer was deployed near them However Tuesdays peaceful sitin protest which included current and former Senate members was met with police action We strongly condemn this move said Pradip Sawant a Yuva Sena Senate memberAdministrative lapsesThe senate members and teachers have also accused the university administration of poor governance and lack of transparency One of the major flashpoints was the recently held special senate meeting to pass the universityrsquos annual budget Protesters alleged the meeting which typically runs over two days was hurriedly concluded in just 30 minutes and objections from senate members were ignored ldquoApproving the budget in such a rushed and undemocratic manner undermines the purpose of Senate deliberationsrdquo Sawant saidOther grievancesProtesters alleged systemic goofups in the examination department ldquoThe university hastily declared results without resolving underlying issues while patting its back Most students who initially fail end up passing after revaluation This proves the lack of accuracyrdquo said Jagannath Khemnar senate member BUCTUMultiple students reportedly received certificates with errors raising questions about quality control Protesters highlighted the poor state of university subcentres in Kalyan Thane Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg calling them ldquopatheticrdquo and underfundedA longpending demand for a dedicated hostel for tribal students at the Vidyanagari campus first proposed in 2005 remains unfulfilled Teachers in deemed and unaided affiliated colleges reportedly earn significantly less than their counterparts in aided institutions in violation of UGC normsRole of senateThe senate consisting of representatives from teachers principals graduates and college management serves as the universityrsquos oversight body and holds the authority to approve the budget and other policy decisionsatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params