M’lore: Union Minister Oscar inaugurates 27th Statutory Conference of AIFUCTO at St Aloysius C

By Ashritha D’Souza
Pics by John V Tauro
Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 1 Dec 2013: The twenty-seventh Statutory Conference of All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organizations (AIFUCTO) was inaugurated by union minister for transportation, road and highways Oscar Fernandes at Loyola Hall, St Aloysius Pre-University College here on Saturday November 30.

 

Nearly 2,000 teachers from more than 20 states across the country are participating in the national seminar on ’Changing Paradigms of Higher Education – Twelfth Five Year Plan Initiatives’ which will conclude on Monday December 2.

 

The conference was organized by AIFUCTO and Association of Mangalore University College Teachers (AMUCT) in association with Federation of University and College teacher’s Association in Karnataka (FUCTAK) and St Aloysius College (Autonomous).

 

MLA J R Lobo released the conference souvenir on the occasion.

 

MLC Captain Ganesh Karnik was the chief guest.

 

Mangalore University vice-chancellor Professor T C Shivashankaramurti presided the programme.

 

 
The union minister Oscar Fernandes after inaugurating the programme said, ‘Teaching has distinctly changed as the students today have a different thought. American President Barrack Obama had once in his address to students asked them to be aware of the students of India and Bangalore; this clearly shows the extent to which our state and country is recognized,’ said minister Fernandes.

 

He further said, ‘Six members of my family including myself are teachers, and I am always willing to attend programmes in schools and colleges and educational institutes. Education is a major challenge faced by our country today. We will become an economic power one day, but we will continue to be an intellectual power even then. There are 18 legislations pending to be passed in the parliament pertaining to education,’ said minister Fernandes.

 

The minister Oscar said, ‘I had been earlier been chosen to be the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, which was one of the high points of my political career. The legislature that every child must be given education has been passed two years ago and we need to work hard to achieve and maintain that level.

 

‘India is lagging behind in research. Education must be provided to every child in the country. Students should not stop learning once they get a job. By 2020 everybody should be literate. Education must motivate students to take up research and teaching. There is so much more to be explored in the field of education,’ said minister Fernandes.

 

 
Speaking on the occasion, MLA J R Lobo said that higher educational institutes have to act as a guiding force to the youth and help them to achieve their goals and manifest themselves, but we are lagging behind as none of the institutions are providing the required environment and field to enable students to manifest their skills.

 

 

‘We need to introspect as to why our youth are not attaining higher educational qualifications. Hence higher education must be given more importance and priority, added MLA Lobo.

 

MLA Lobo further said, ‘None of our universities have global fame, today is the day we find where we are going wrong. Unless we show the path to the youth, we are in difficulty. In the next three days, we can think on the lines of upgrading our universities to global standards. I hope Mangalore will set the trend for new policies on higher education,’ said MLA Lobo.

 
MLC Captain Ganesh Karnik said, ‘Coastal Karnataka is famous for education. India has a legacy in education. The achievement of ISRO is an eye opener for the entire world. In Karnataka, nearly 1,40,00,000 students are attending educational institutions everyday with more than 4,00,000 teachers. The challenge lies in the ability to convert the human resource to explore to its fullest potential,’ said MLC Captain Karnik.

 
St Aloysius Education Institutions rector Fr Denzil Lobo, highlighted the problem with the current education system where there is no correlation in primary, higher secondary and higher education, which is causing an anomaly in the quality of education.

 
AIFUCTO president Professor Tarun Kumar Patra said, ‘Today, under the neo-liberal economic conditions, privatization, commercialization and commoditization of higher education in the global market has emerged as major threats to the access, equity and quality. Access is being denied to the lower depths of society. So called private and foreign education providers are invited by the government to enter the arena of higher education in India for profiteering,’ said Patra.

 
Commenting on difficulties faced by the teachers, Patra said, ‘In most states, the teachers are not getting their 80% arrears from January 1 2006 to March 31 2010. Teachers are being deprived of M Phil /Ph D increments. With the exception of Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala, the pension scheme, the strongest social measures have been withdrawn. A very large community of teachers comprising part time, contractual, guest lecturers is working with a meager amount of emoluments without any security of service and avenues of promotions. It is my firm belief that our united actions and well organized movements will overcome the challenges of globalization,’ said Patra.

 

AMUCT president Dr Norbert Lobo proposed the vote of thanks.