Students’ March To Parliament On December 2

THE Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Bloc (AISB) and All India Progressive Students’ Union (AIPSU) have decided to organise a ‘March to the Parliament’ on December 2, 2004. This march is being organised to put pressure on the union government for the enactment of a central legislation empowering the state governments to control unaided self-financed colleges.

The central leaders of the three organisations informed the media about this at a press conference at the SFI central office on November 23. They pointed out how they have been in the forefront in waging sustained struggles across the country against the free rein given to private professional institutions by the Supreme Court. “The now infamous judgment given by the Supreme Court in the TMA Pai case led to an exorbitant increase in the fee for professional courses and also cut whatever little control the state government used to have on these institutions. The chaos that had set in ruined the basic concept of charity in education. Many state governments had made only half-hearted attempts to remedy the situation. This is because the interests of the mandarins in power and unaided college managements are entwined. The judgment in effect gave a judicial stamp to the policies of commercialisation of education pursued earnestly by the non-Left state governments and also the union government”, stated the student leaders in a joint statement issued at the press conference. It was signed by Kallol Roy, SFI general secretary, Aritro Chatterjee, AISB general secretary and Rajeev Banarjee, AIPSU general secretary.

The student leaders highlighted how they organised many struggles in the states and faced police brutalities and also attacks by the goons of the managements of the self-financed institutions. “The BJP-led NDA government failed to heed to the demands of the students and thus had faced the consequences. It is now the responsibility of the Congress led by UPA government to enact the central legislation in the coming winter session of the parliament.  It is in fact nothing but standing true to its commitment made in the CMP”, they asserted.

They underlined another grave threat to the higher education sector in our country from the mushrooming self-financed deemed universities. “Many state governments are giving permission for the establishment of deemed universities by private persons. Maharashtra government is a recent example. This, coupled with the Supreme Court judgement in the TMA Pai case, will flood the society with professionals, armed with fraudulent degrees. The experience of Chattisgarh had proved to one and all the danger that can be wreaked by these institutes. We demand the central government to suitably amend the UGC Act and prevent the establishment of such sub-standard universities”, they said.

Explaining the rationale for undertaking this ‘March to Parliament’, the student leaders said successive governments had failed in correcting such anomalies that had crept in our education system. They appealed to all political parties and other sections to support their agitation like the Left parties, which have already pledged their support. They informed that state level conventions will be organised in all states to mobilise support from vast and varied sections of the society. The three student organisations demanded the UPA government to take immediate steps for the enactment of the legislation and to be sensitive to the demands of the students.

K K Ragesh, SFI president and R Arun Kumar, SFI vice president were also present in the press meet. (INN)