Students’ protests point fingers at deeper problems in education system: Kuvempu University Vice-Chancellor

Published 24 July 2026 · education

Referring to the ongoing students’ protests, Kuvempu University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sharath Ananthamurthy said that the protests were pointing towards deeper problems in the education system

Referring to the ongoing students’ protests, Kuvempu University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sharath Ananthamurthy said that the protests were pointing towards deeper problems in the education system, besides prompting teachers to introspect. He spoke after inaugurating a series of lectures at Sahyadri Arts College, a constituent college of Kuvempu University, in Shivamogga on Friday. “The students’ protests are not limited to the NEET paper leak, students’ suicides or even the resignation of the Union Education Minister. They are questioning a system that has pushed education without understanding the true meaning of modernity,” he said. The Vice-Chancellor said teachers too needed to introspect and accept that the questions being raised by students were directed at them as well. “These children are pointing fingers at us too. We cannot wash our hands off by saying that politicians are responsible. We are giving them nothing in the name of education,” he said. Closure of schools in danger The capitalist system, he said, had “captured everything” and was treating education as a commodity.

Nearly 90% of students depended on public universities, while only about 10% went to private universities. However, governments and politicians were giving disproportionate importance to the latter. “Public education is not a concern for any government. Schools are in a bad state. Schools with three or four children are being closed. Even schools with three or four students should not be closed. Even as a symbol, it is dangerous,” he said. Instead of shutting down public institutions, there was a need to think about how public education could be strengthened, he said. He warned against the neoliberal approach of replacing knowledge with skills, terming it dangerous. “Of course, we are not well-versed in skills either. What is a skill? That itself is a question,” he said. A skill taught by someone working in a factory today could become extinct tomorrow, he pointed out, asking whether education should therefore be confined entirely to teaching skills.

“We need to think about the foundation we provide for our children. Thinking and reasoning abilities are primary and important. The foundational skills should be embedded in knowledge,” he said. He stressed the need for an interdisciplinary approach to education. If economics was being taught, the course should address the crisis faced by the agrarian community instead of remaining abstract. The issue should also find a place in sociology classes. Similarly, a physics teacher should be able to explain the consequences of atomic energy, he added. NEP-SEP On the Education Policy (NEP), the Vice-Chancellor said its true objective was to bring the entire education system under a neoliberal framework. However, he said he found some of its structural aspects acceptable, particularly the scope for an interdisciplinary approach. “A child could go from one subject to another stream easily. A student could easily go to another university with the knowledge acquired in the previous institution.