The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University has announced only one centre in southern India in Chennai for its entrance examinations for 2020-21 admissions, much to the dismay of students in the region. The MPs from Kerala have written to the Human Resource Development Minister, demanding multiple centres in each southern State as was provided in previous years.
“In 2019, Wayanad in Kerala was the largest IGNTU examination centre outside of Madhya Pradesh with over 400 applicants,” said a letter from Binoy Viswam, a CPI Rajya Sabha MP.
“Wayanad is home to the largest tribal population in Kerala,” wrote Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who represents it in the Lok Sabha MP. “Urging students to opt for examination centres far away from home denies them a fair opportunity to compete in the admission process.”
The Central University, located in Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, was set up in 2007. It opened its 2020-21 application process on April 23, and plans to hold the entrance examinations on June 27 and 28.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic may result in changes in dates and venues, the admission notice said.
K.K. Ragesh, a CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP, said some of the university’s other recent decisions also went against its mandate for providing quality education to the tribal communities.
“Recently, the university has proposed to open departments of Sanskrit and Jyotisha, while many of the tribal languages and cultures were ignored from consideration and support,” he wrote.
