67% people unaware of emergency kits, disaster preparedness in Kerala: Survey
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 14 : People of Kerala, the state which has an envious record in several human development indicators, have largely been found to be unaware of precautionary measures and emergency kits to be used at times of disasters with two thirds of respondents of a survey pleading ignorance.
The findings in the state-wide survey held just over two months after the state was devastated by unprecedented floods in a century have prompted the organiser, Kerala State Literacy Mission (KLSM), to pitch for a "disaster management literacy programme".
The state is known for its high literacy, lowest infant mortality and highest life expectancy rates among others.
Yet according to the survey, 66.77 per cent of people, cutting across cities and villages, were unaware of precautionary measures and emergency kits to be used at times of disasters.
The detailed report of the survey-How and What the Flood-Affected Kerala Thinks-carried out by the KLSM, was released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function here on Saturday.
At least 20.02 per cent of people, who took part in the survey, had not even heard about climate change, though it is one of the most discussed topics globally, it says.
Only 43.74 per cent of people were aware of different forms of natural disasters such as drought, flood and earthquake, while just 8.43 per cent knew that cyclone is a form of disaster, the report said.
The initiative, carried out with the support of about 50,000 students pursuing the mission's equivalency programmes on October 2, covered over 2.91 lakh households in all the 14 districts of the state.
Besides men and women, the survey covered over 35 transgenders also, the mission sources said.
At least 66.77 per cent of people were unaware about the emergency survival kits that can be used during the time of disasters, the survey report said.
Director of Literacy Mission P S Sreekala said it was also interesting to note that 41.86 per cent of people did not have an idea about the precautionary measures to be taken during the time of emergencies.
Carried out as part of the rebuilding initiatives of the state government post the August deluge, the survey was aimed at assessing the public's scientific knowledge on climate change, disaster management and environment-friendly lifestyle, she said.
Based on the report, the Literacy Mission has submitted a set of recommendations to the government. One of the major proposals was to introduce a disaster management literacy programme in the state, Sreekala said.
Disaster management, emergency preparedness and climate change should be made part of the public education system, she said. Floods and rains had claimed at least 493 lives and left a trail of destruction during this year's South West Monsoon in Kerala.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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