KERALA STUDENT-SUICIDES

Inhuman Face Of Self-Financing Institutes Exposed

K K Ragesh

KERALA has now become a state where students are committing suicide due to their inability to pay exorbitant fees charged in private self-financing institutions. The two recent cases of suicide of students expose the total commercialisation of education under the UDF government, which is leading the poor students towards taking this extreme step.

“The hostel warden made fun over my inability to pay fees on time; searching for my luggage in the hostel room on the pretext that I had vanished, he aired a warning that he will inform all that I am a cheat if I wouldn’t come back.”

The above is an excerpt from a letter written by Rajani to her mother dated February 13, 2003. Rajani, a computer-engineering student ended her life on July 22 because she was unable to continue her studies in the IHRD College of Engineering due to non-payment of hostel fees. The letter brings out the reason as to what made her struggle in pursuing this course despite scoring first class and distinction in both the 10th and 12th standard and also passing the entrance test which made her eligible for engineering admission.

Distressed by the inability to pay the high fees, Rajani, daughter of poor laundry workers Sivanandan and Shanta, desperately approached the Poozhakkudy branch of Indian Overseas Bank for assistance through student loan. She was disheartened over the bleak response to her request for the loan. When the bank officials finally conveyed their refusal, she decided to end her life as she was traumatised by the auction regime prevailing in education. On July 22, 2004, Rajani jumped to death from the terrace of the building which houses the office of Commissioner of Entrance Examinations, Government of Kerala. From the letter written by Rajani to her mother it is crystal clear as to who is actually responsible for the death of the girl. They must be made accountable for crushing the hopes and educational aspirations of a poor dalit girl and her family.

Ten days later, on August 1, Fazila who was studying BSc course in Malappuram district attempted suicide by setting herself on fire, as she was frustrated at her inability to pay the course fee. After undergoing eleven days of treatment, Fazila succumbed to her injuries on August 12.

Fazila, a student of Jamia Nadvia College, had applied for a Transfer Certificate from her college, which was charging high fees. She wanted to join another nearby college. She was denied the TC since she could not pay her tuition fee for this academic year. The college principal even directed her to pay the fee for the whole of three years. Desperate and unable to find a way to continue her studies, she opted for the path of suicide.

STATE-ABETTED MURDERS

The tragic deaths of Rajani and Fazila expose the inhuman face of the much-hyped self-financing colleges and institutions. Their tragic deaths are nothing but state-abetted murders. Rajani is a victim of the pernicious and unjust education policy of the UDF government led by chief minister A K Antony. The policies of the UDF government are denying equal access to the poor and weaker sections of the society into professional and higher education. It is such policies that are driving the poor students like Rajani and Fazila to commit suicide.

The government’s decision to open up the higher education sector to market forces has had far reaching consequences. While giving the go-ahead to the self-financing regime, A K Antony had offered an apology of logic through this formula: “Two self-financing colleges are equal to one government college”. The norm which stipulates that only half of the total seats must be marked out for payment seats was the basis of this formula. But, in practice this formula was never implemented. After the government went on a No-Objection-Certificate (NOC) issuing spree, many colleges sprung up in the state and admissions to these have taken place through an open auctioning of seats by private managements. The pro-student rhetoric of the government has been just that – rhetoric. It not only looked the other way but also never bothered about providing educational opportunities to those needy students who were being deprived of their education due to skyrocketing fees. The chief minister is shamelessly dancing to the tune of private managements and is ready to go to any extent to protect their interests. His government has replaced academic excellence with money power as criteria for admissions. The state government is reluctant to consider the concerns of the students from economically and socially backward sections who have the merit of academic excellence.

The decision of the A K Antony regime to introduce private self-financing institutes – a new phenomenon in a state like Kerala where public education system is strong – had invited protests right from the beginning. In an unprecedented manner, all private managements who had applied were given NOCs. During the last three years more than 500 self-financing institutes have been established in Kerala.

This decision to start self-financing colleges was made in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict in the Unnikrishnan case, claimed the government. This has made the government liable to ensure that 50 per cent of the seats of self-financing colleges are allocated for fees at par with the fees charged in government colleges. The private managements which were allowed to establish self-financing colleges are liable and had agreed to follow this scheme. But the 11-member bench of the Supreme Court in the T M A Pai case quashed the free seat norm. As a result, the self-financing colleges used this opportunity to make more profits and these institutes were turned into exorbitant profit-making centres. Despite repeated demands by the student community, the government refused to enact a legislation to ensure 50 per cent free seats in self-financing colleges. Worse, the government did not take steps to ensure availability of ‘free seats’ even under its own quota.

It was clear that even in the courts the government has seemingly helped private managements. It is quite strange that the government has always been defeated in all litigations related to the self-financing issue. In spite of the fact that the Supreme Court holds that any amount chargeable other than the tuition fees in any name – donation, development fee etc. – shall amount to capitation fee, and has banned capitation fees, in Kerala the private managements have never hesitated in charging capitation fees. Under management quota, the private medical colleges are today collecting Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for each seat as capitation fees. This when the K T Thomas committee put a maximum fee of Rs 1,12,000 in all seats in private medical colleges!

GROWING AGITATION

The Antony government’s attitude favouring commercialisation of education has sparked off large-scale agitations by students in Kerala during the last two years. Last year the government was compelled to negotiate with the agitating students and make certain commitments. The government agreed for enacting a legislation to regulate self-financing institutes and also to ensure 50 per cent free seats irrespective of the expected court verdict. But the government did not fulfil most of the assurances as per the agreement.

The drubbing received by the UDF in the recent Lok Sabha elections made clear the people’s opposition to such policies. In the case of education the mandate was clearly to enact legislation to protect the interests of poor and economically backward students. The electoral defeat and the agitation led by the students forced the government to enact a law titled “The Kerala Self-Financing Professional Colleges Act 2004”. However, even in this law the government ensured that the vested interests of private managements were protected. In actuality, this law legalised capitation fee being collected by the managements by allowing them to admit students of their choice irrespective of merit under management quota. The state government, instead of protecting the law by making additions to the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, has given sufficient time to private managements to approach the court for getting the provision of free seats quashed. The lack of will on part of the state government is responsible for the xenophobic statements made by college managements against taking admissions on the basis of merit quota.

Some of the so-called minority managements are now terming the student agitation as an attack against minority educational institutions. It is a fact that private institutions in Kerala – either minority or non-minority – are not serving the interests of the deprived sections. In the so-called minority professional institutions in Kerala it is not the minority students who are benefiting but only the privileged few belonging to both minority and non-minority sections. The agitation led by the SFI is intended to protect the interests of the deprived majority in all sections of the society, including the minorities.

The suicide of Rajani has triggered tremendous anger against the state administration with the result that students across the state are joining the agitation in large numbers. The government is using strong-arm tactics to crush the agitation. Hundreds of agitating students and youth were severely lathicharged in many places in the state. Criminal cases, including under Section 307 (attempt to murder), are being lodged against the students-youth and hundreds of them are being imprisoned. However, this repression has not weakened the agitation. It has made it gain further momentum. Faced with this growing agitation the state government was compelled to announce certain measures. Among them was the reinstatement of all rights of the SC/ST students and the enhancement of hostel fee assistance from Rs 350 to Rs 1,000. Although the government was compelled to provide 50 per cent free seats in government-sponsored self-financing institutes, it is hesitant to impose the same on private institutions.

LOANS ARE NO SUBSTITUTE

While withdrawing from the education sector, the government has been suggesting that students must opt for bank loans as an alternative for free seats. The union budget for the year 2004-05 has also increased the maximum amount of loan provided to a student from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. But the benefit of educational loans never reaches the needy students because as per the compulsory direction to all commercial banks by the Reserve Bank of India, one important criterion in sanctioning the loan must be the capability of the student to repay the loan. The alibi given by the bank while refusing loan to Rajani pinpoints to the government’s humdrum about student loans. The bank found the small piece of land, the only security that Rajani could offer, insufficient as security. This is the harbinger of thousands of such refusals by banks. Actually, the very concept behind educational loan is that a student will have to repay the money only after completing the course and entering a job. But unfortunately education does not guarantee a job in Indian circumstances. This situation will only drag students, who are lucky enough to get a loan, into debt traps. The net outcome of this grim scenario is the suicide of students due to refusal on request for loans. Tomorrow, we may hear news of suicides due to inability to repay the loans.

The only solution to provide opportunity for professional and higher education for the poor and weaker sections is strengthening of the higher and professional institutions functioning under the government sector. Provisions should be made to ensure that no student is denied education in private institutes if they belong to economically or socially backward families.

Kerala, which already tops in the number of suicides in the country, will be pushed to more troubles if the government delays a decision on the self-financing colleges. Rajani’s tragic death hints to the danger in the offing. It also exposes the stand of the Antony government, which is gifting undue favours to self-financing college managements. The government has gone to the extent of defaming Rajani after her death with the help of a section of the media. A dubious effort on part of the government to compromise the dignity of a student who was forced to end her life is totally shameless and highly condemnable. The UDF has no right to undermine the socially just education system, which improved the lives of the people. The student community of Kerala will go on with its strong offensive until and unless the Antony government halts the naked commercialisation of education.