Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge recently criticized the BJP-RSS for their approach to higher education in India. He believes that the government’s education policies aim to control universities and push their own ideology into public schools. Kharge pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often talks about education initiatives like “Pariksha pe Charcha” and “Exam Warriors,” but he highlighted a concerning fact: the National Talent Search Examination Scholarship (NTSE) has been stopped for three years. This program has been around since 1963 and was budgeted to cost about ₹40 crores, yet he claims ₹62 crores have been spent on Modi’s promotions instead.
Kharge also expressed worries over new proposals from the University Grants Commission (UGC) that could give a lot of power to governors, letting them decide on vice-chancellor appointments, even for people without academic backgrounds. He believes this undermines state rights and could lead to appointments only from the Sangh Parivar, which is associated with the BJP-RSS.
In the past, the UGC provided financial support to universities funded by the government. But now, Kharge argues that the financing role has shifted to a new body called the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), created by the Modi government in partnership with Canara Bank. He said this might lead colleges and universities to require more self-funded courses, putting additional financial strain on SC, ST, OBC, and EWS students. Kharge noted that this financial aid is now in the form of loans rather than grants, and the UGC’s budget has been drastically reduced by 61%. He believes controlling universities and imposing BJP-RSS ideologies on education is the true agenda of the Modi government.
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