Why is that only authorities are to blame for all the face offs with the student community, when there are more hot heads among the younger brigade, and every organisation representing them is prepared to go to any extent to gain higher ground
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The anger in the student community on the Panjab University (PU) campus in Chandigarh over the proposed fee hike, necessitated, according to the authorities, by a long standing financial crisis, had been festering for months leading to protests and sit-ins. With the University Grants Commission (UGC) increasingly squeezing the university for central funds, and pressuring it to generate more revenues internally, when the university authorities finally announced what has widely been decried as a “very steep” hike it was but natural to expect a groundswell of protests. There were peaceful marches and sit-ins all right.
Photo By: Life In Chandigarh
But what happened on the campus on Tuesday, when crowds throng the temples for blessings, and most vice-loving among us abstain from ‘spirits’ and non-veg, took all involved unawares. The swiftness with which a shameful turn of events took place outside the vice chancellor’s office complex, with a section of the quickly marshalled students turning aggressive (others were continuing their peaceful protests) and the resultant brute force of the police machinery deployed there, left several students and policemen injured and the campus aghast.
Varying accounts of the incidents
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Though there are varying accounts of the incidents, it is generally believed that pushing came to shoving as the law enforcers tried to fend off a determined push by students towards the entry to the VC’s office complex. The cops yielded their lathis, students resorted to stone-pelting and water cannons vent their full fury on the students. In the melee, and a wild chase by the policemen that unfolded to catch hold of the “rioters” even into classrooms, many “innocents” are learnt to have fallen victim to the police charge.
Photo By: Life In Chandigarh
The injured students and policemen were rushed to various hospitals and dozens of students arrested. Several of those arrested, including girls, have alleged mistreatment and being beaten up while in police custody. A court while taking cognisance of these allegations and ordering medical examination of the accusers, has remanded those arrested in judicial custody much to the consternation of their parents, many of whom have had to rush from across the region to the defence of their children.
Are authorities always to blame
While there has been widespread condemnation of the police and university authorities on expected lines, and only and independent and creditable investigation can unravel the truth, lifeinchandigarh.com would like to raise a pertinent question : Granted that the law enforcing agencies have earned for themselves the reputation of being high-handed in their confrontations with the public, but is it always right to straight away put the entire blame on the “authorities”, including in this case the university, for all that goes wrong in a faceoff.
Photo By: Life In Chandigarh
In this very case, while the university’s handling of entire issue of contentious fee hike can be questioned, and so can be overkill of the police force, but the aggressive intent shown by a section of the protesting students cannot also be condoned. No wonder, not all students’ organisations on the campus are on the same page on this issue. “Who was the first aggressor,” many of them are asking within themselves.
Fee hike inevitable
Even on the fundamental issue of fee hike, there is general consensus that it cannot be wished away, especially when UGC is insistent that all universities become self sustaining. PU vice chancellor Arun Kumar Grover has been recently quoted in a media interview that according to the UGC, the per-student subsidy in PU is Rs 1.3 lakh and expenditure per student here is more than neighbouring universities like the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) Amritsar and Punjabi University Patiala. “You cannot beat this argument”, he has asserted.
The larger issue is of affordability of higher education. It is argued that deserving students should not be denied admission just because they cannot afford the fees. So the new thought is to charge the full amount of hiked fees from the haves and give concessions varying from 50 % to 75 % to the have-nots. If the haves can willingly shell out huge amounts of money to put their children in the most reputed schools and also afford even bigger amounts for their coaching and extra tuitions, then why not at the university level, goes the argument in favour of the fee hike.
Highlights from a recent PU Senate meeting which approved the enhancement in fee structure:
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- Decision applicable to various courses being taught on PU campus and at its regional centres.
- Not applicable to PU affiliated colleges
- Adequate provisions to protect the interests of students belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS)
- Fee levels in traditional courses enhanced from existing Rs. 2,000-3,000 per annum to Rs 10,000-15,000 per annum for the new entrants from academic year 2017-18.
- New students, whose parental income is up to Rs. 2.5 lakhs per annum shall be entitled to 75% concession on the new fee. This would amount to almost no enhancement in fee for them from the existing fee levels.
- New students belonging to a family with income bracket between Rs. 2.5 Lakhs to Rs 5 Lakhs per annum would be entitled to seek up to 50% fee concession.
- For students enrolled in self financed professional courses, provision already exists (and will continue) to provide free ship to 5% of total number of seats to students belonging to EWS category.
- Tuition Fee concession is also available in PU system for those students whose parents are not surviving or whose only mother is surviving and she is unable to support the expenses of her ward(s).
- Besides this, there is a scheme called 'Merit cum Merit based tuition fee support' with a current budget provision of Rs. 75 lakhs to provide fee concession to needy applicants. This budget was not fully utilised during the current academic year due to dearth of applications from eligible students.
- The fee levels of Self Financing professional courses has been enhanced such that inflationary pressure on them stands partially compensated, since the initiation of these courses between 2001 and 2008.
- The fee levels of partially self financing professional courses like those in Fashion Technology, Disaster Management, Police Administration, Hotel Management etc have only been marginally enhanced.
- PU has also proposed a new initiative of “earn while you learn” wherein certain jobs would be identified where the students can work on part time basis and fund their education.
- In addition to this PU has also agreed to facilitate loans from banks on soft interest rates to enable students to pay fees in the professional courses.
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