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All 46 central universities will fly the tricolour atop a 207-feet tall flag mast "prominently and proudly" on their campuses to signify a "strong India" and the first will be hoisted at JNU, a resolution adopted at a meeting chaired by HRD Minister Smriti Irani said on Thursday.
"At a central place in every university, the national flag will be flown prominently and proudly," the resolution passed at a meeting Irani had with the Vice Chancellors of Central universities, said.
The move drew a sharp reaction from the Congress which said nationalism doesn't mean hoisting the flag and singing Vande Mataram and that it should be reflected in one's belief in the Constitution. CPM leader Brinda Karat also slammed government for the decision.
The decision came in the midst of raging row over the arrest of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges for being present at an event on the campus where anti-India slogans were raised. Though the government is facing strident opposition criticism over the issue, today's move reflects its resolve to adopt an aggressive posture on it.
The proposal for hoisting the national tricolour atop a 207-feet pole was put forward by Irani and unanimously endorsed by all the 46 vice chancellors, HRD officials said. She also put forth the proposal for hoisting the first such flag at JNU, which too was backed by all the VCs, they said.
Officials in HRD Ministry said as per the resolution all the central universities, including JNU, will have to fly the tricolor and the decision was taken to "symbolise a strong and united India" in the institutions of higher education.
Irani had called the meeting of VCs following widespread protest over suicide of dalit scholar of Hyderabad University Rohith Vemula.
"Nationalism just doesn't mean hoisting the flag and singing Vande Mataram. It is about showing your belief in the Constitution, it is about showing respect to the institutions which have made the country a democratic set up," Congress' R P N Singh said.
The JNU row had become the subject of a massive political fight with opposition coming down hard on the government. The protests have taken place in many universities including in Jadavpur University in West Bengal.
At the meeting several important aspects related to higher education, including the implementation of 2012 UGC regulations by varsities for promoting equity and addressing grievances of Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe students discussed.
It was also decided at the meeting that there will be a one-week course on leadership and management at two select IIMs for VCs Pro-VCs and Registrars.
According to the resolution, all varsities will take steps to appoint an anti-discrimination officer besides adopting a transparent proactive mechanism for grievance redressal for the university community including students, staff and faculty.
They will also institutionalize peer-assisted learning through active mentoring system for students involving senior students and faculty.
In order to keep pace with the emerging knowledge society in the global world, new courses were also proposed, including on foreign languages, new media and youth, inter-faith studies, dialogue of culture and civilizations, women and entrepreneurship, epidemiology and public health, gerontology and diaspora studies.
In the science, technology and agriculture stream, new courses like nano-technology, converging technologies, applied science and maths, farming technology, rural supply chain management and renewable energy development have been proposed.
To ensure that no student is deprived of higher education due to language limitation, it will be ensured that the medium of instruction is English and an Indian language, as applicable to the state.
It has also been decided that to increase cost-effective and transparent access to higher education online admission process will be started.
To motivate students to be socially aware and responsible citizens and to inculcate a spirit of dignity of labour among the youth and commitment to social uplift, it was decided to strengthen the village adoption programme already in place under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.