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On Sunday, July 27, the vice chancellors and faculty of several universities across Kerala attended a national education conclave in Ernakulam, organised by the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN), the education wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The conference focused mainly on two topics: “Indianisation in education to reclaim the value of Indian education from colonial influence”, and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The four-day event titled ‘Gyan Sabha’ (Knowledge Conclave), with a focus on the theme ‘Education for a Developed India’, started on July 25, and will conclude on July 28.
Mohan Bhagwat, Arlekar speak
A public session held on the third day of the conclave was presided over by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The session was a discussion on the “Indian and Kerala perspectives in education” and was aimed at “formulating transformative strategies for nation-building through education”.
Speaking at the event, Mohan Bhagavat stated that an education model rooted in Indian philosophy is vital for India's development, as an alternative to the “colonial influences” on the country's current education system. He replaced Indianisation with “Bharatiyaness,” stressing that there is no need to translate Bharat into India.
In a similar vein, Governor Arlekar called NEP the “first step to decolonise” India’s education system. He claimed that India had once been the world’s teacher (vishwa guru) with the information the region possessed. He said, “We were vishwa gurus back in the day, and we are vishwa gurus now. The only thing is, we have to assert it properly. That assertion was not done after Independence.”
VCs attend RSS event
Another session, held exclusively for academics, stressed the structural transformations required in the curriculum, and focussed on aligning Kerala's educational resources with the future industry needs, as per the recommendations of NEP 2020.
Speaking with TNM, PS Gopakumar, syndicate member of the University of Kerala, said that many prominent persons in Kerala’s education sector attended the programme, including VCs, former VCs, and professors. He described the attendees as “the essence of the higher education sector” of Kerala. They included four university vice chancellors, including Dr Mohanan Kunnummal, VC of Kerala Health Science University; Prof P Raveendran, University of Calicut; Professor Saju KK, University of Kannur; and Professor A Biju Kumar, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS). This session was also attended by many faculty members of universities across Kerala, as well as representatives of private management colleges.
Gopakumar also mentioned that although the Kerala government has voiced objections to NEP, the University of Kerala implemented a four-year undergraduate programme (FYUGP), as per NEP recommendations, last year. “The four-year course is a prominent part of NEP. However, the state government claims it's their programme,” he alleged.
The session was also attended by other guests, such as Dr Pankaj Mittal, who is both the secretary general of the Association of Indian Universities and and the chairperson of the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas; Professor TG Sitharam, chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE); and Professor Gandhi S Murthy, national coordinator of the Bharatiya Gyan Parampara (IKS) division of the Union Ministry of Education.
Why Kerala?
This is the first time the SSUN is conducting a national conference in Kerala. While speaking at the event, Dr Atul Kothari, national secretary of SSUN, explained why they chose Kerala for this year’s event. “Usually, such events are conducted in Delhi, but this time we chose Kerala because it is the land where Shankaracharya was born. We began the event in Kalady, his birthplace. Apart from him, this is the birthplace of Sree Narayana Guru and Chattambi Swamy.”
The event was jointly organised by SSUN, the Association of Indian Universities, and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at Amrita Medical College in Kochi's Edapally.
According to the organisers, many educationists, including state education ministers, vice-chancellors from different universities across the nation, academicians, and officials of central educational bodies like University Grants Commission (UGC), National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE,) and Bharatiya Gyan Parampara (IKS) will participate in the event on Monday, June 28, the final day of the conference.
Ongoing controversies
Dr Sivaprasad, a professor at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) told TNM that this knowledge conclave will help Kerala create a new culture by incorporating “Indian knowledge” into the education sector. Sivaparasad was the former interim vice chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) in Kerala. However, his appointment was deemed “not sustainable in law” by the Kerala High Court in May 2025.
“Kerala is a knowledge-driven society, but its prominence has started to fade. So, to regain Kerala’s position in the education sector, the state should realise the importance of Indian Knowledge (Bharata vigyan). This knowledge conclave is the first step to achieve this dream developed by India,” he added.
He also shared the important things mentioned in the academicians' discussion, “In the programme, we discussed the technicalities of the NEP and the abstractions and preparation for implementing the NEP. In the meeting, VCs were asked to make their policy decision in NEP, as it has been over five years now. I also explained to the gathering what all I did as VC of KTU,” he added.
In the first week of July, the Student Federation of India (SFI) conducted protests at the Kerala University and other university campuses in the state, raising the allegations of RSS’ move to saffronise the higher education sector. They had also questioned why VCs attend RSS programmes.
Responding to a question on the controversies in the state’s universities about the RSS’ alleged saffronisation moves, Sivaprasad said knowledge has no colour. “We could say that Kerala attained so much development because of the Ramayana penned by Ezhuthachan and the strength of that language. NEP is a mix of both local and national knowledge.”
Sivaprasad added, “The RSS has been working in India for the past 100 years. It is not a banned organisation; it has been working to foster nationalism, trying to establish the nation as a vishwa guru and thereby aiming to work for the welfare of the world. I don’t understand why VCs should not attend the organisation’s programmes. We are not here to destroy anything.”