Former Vice-Chairperson of the Kerala State Higher Education Council Rajan Gurukkal P.M. has said that there is “nothing new” in the Budget for the State’s higher education sector.Rejecting claims of comprehensive changes, the academic said in a statement on Friday (June 19, 2026) that most of the proposals are ongoing schemes presented in a rephrased form. He also criticised the proposal to create a ‘Future Readiness Think Tank’ to anticipate technological developments in higher education by calling it an “unevolved and poorly thought-out attempt.”Prof. Gurukkal pointed out that the proposal appears unaware of existing initiatives such as the Digicol Digital enablement project, which includes advanced digital technology for learning management systems (LMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for colleges, and AI-based techno-pedagogy in universities.K-REAP projectHe also referred to the K-REAP project for total computerisation of universities, digitised translational research, start-ups and incubation centres, which already exist in the system.On the topic of internationalisation, Prof. Gurukkal said the ‘Semester in Kerala’ proposal for foreign students is not new and is part of the broader ‘Study in Kerala’ initiative. He added that the Study in Kerala is supported by the Scholar Connect app, which enables global academic networking. He went on to describe the proposed academic tourism plans as a downgraded version of heritage tourism introduced during the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.Prof. Gurukkal added that reforms such as credit transfer and the Academic Bank of Credits are already in place at the undergraduate level, and questioned their presentation as new initiatives.He added that international higher education fairs have been conducted in the State since 2018, even as he welcomed their continuation. Published - June 19, 2026 06:57 pm IST