Left Organisations Demand Kerala Retain Existing FYUGP Academic Framework

Left-aligned service organisations in Kerala have raised strong objections to several recommendations contained in the Kerala State Higher Education Council’s interim review of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP). The organisations have urged the council to retain the programme’s existing academic framework and ensure that any proposed changes remain consistent with Outcome-Based Education, university autonomy and the statutory provisions governing the programme. Their response comes amid an ongoing review of the implementation of FYUGP across higher education institutions in the State.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed All Kerala Private College Teachers’ Association (AKPCTA) has submitted a detailed policy response to the Kerala State Higher Education Council. The association has questioned several recommendations put forward by the committee tasked with evaluating the undergraduate programme. It has argued that the proposals, in their present form, could alter important aspects of the academic and assessment structure introduced through FYUGP.

A major concern raised by the association is that some of the recommendations appear to continue with elements of the earlier Choice Based Credit and Semester System (CBCSS). According to the AKPCTA, the assessment architecture under FYUGP was designed differently from the system that existed previously. The organisation has therefore argued that bringing back features associated with CBCSS could create inconsistencies in the implementation of the four-year programme and undermine the academic framework that universities have already adopted.

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The organisations have also stressed the importance of maintaining Outcome-Based Education while reviewing FYUGP. OBE focuses on the learning outcomes that students are expected to achieve through their programmes rather than relying only on conventional methods of evaluating academic performance. The groups have cautioned that changes to the existing structure should not weaken this approach or create a system that is inconsistent with the objectives and academic principles underlying the four-year undergraduate programme.

University autonomy and statutory provisions have emerged as other key issues in the objections submitted to the council. The organisations have maintained that universities should retain their academic and administrative autonomy within the legal framework governing FYUGP. They have urged the Higher Education Council to ensure that any modifications proposed through the review process do not conflict with provisions that have already been approved by the competent statutory bodies or interfere with the universities’ authority to implement the programme.

The objections are part of a wider discussion over how FYUGP should be implemented and refined in Kerala’s higher education system. The interim review by the Kerala State Higher Education Council is intended to assess the programme and consider possible changes based on its implementation. The Left-aligned organisations have called for the existing academic framework to be retained while improvements are considered, arguing that revisions should strengthen FYUGP without reverting to features of the earlier system or compromising outcome-based learning, university autonomy and statutory safeguards.

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