The anti-fee hike movement
The anti-fee hike movement in JNU: 61 days and counting…
Activists suspended and made out of bounds, Over 300 students served with notices…
Sixty-one days and counting of the anti-fee hike movement in JNU shows the perseverance and undying spirit of the students resisting from education becoming a private commodity. To some, it may sound unrealistic in the context of the onslaught of neo-liberalism. But the fact that the administration has employed the tactic of mass-intimidation through selectively targeting of activists, former office-bearers and hundreds of students through academic suspension, fines and proctorial enquiries speaks volumes about the significance of the resistance to the undemocratic and draconian fee-hike fiasco.
Six students, including Comrade Shashikant, Comrade Manikant, Comrade Surya and Comrade Gautam from AISA, and Pratik (MPhil student) and Adhiraj (MA student) have been academically suspended and declared out of bounds from the campus till now, without any pretext of enquiry. This shows the incompetence of JNU admin and in particular the VC who has got no respect for due process and justice.
It requires no intelligence to decipher that the enquiries and suspensions are motivated to break the spirit of resistance and have an easy way through imposing anti-student agendas. The VC, who has been missing from the campus all this while when student’s future lays insecure, suddenly planned to enter once and run over his car on a student and then using the entire scenario to manufacture allegations against students. This targeting of students clearly stands miles apart from bringing “normalcy” to campus, it is not hidden that this VC and his stooges have defended the goons of ABVP several times. It shows his incompetence to discharge his duties in a non-partisan and fair manner and his full commitment to the RSS. Instead of the students who are fighting for affordable quality education for all, it is for the VC that the campus should be declared Out of Bounds. The JNU movement has created ripples against fee hikes across campuses in the country, something which the ruling establishment is afraid of.
Protests by FTII-SRFTI students force administration to agree to reduce fee hike!
We might remember the visuals of Woody Guthrie’s guitar that read, “This machine kills fascists”, as fascists feared all sorts of expression and creativity. The same amount of craziness can be discerned from this government running behind every institution of public education. The recent protests in the context of exorbitant fee-hike in FTII AND SRFTI is a case in point to showcase the fallacy inherent in neo-liberal model of education.
Cost of education was almost doubled in a span of 3 years. The fee for entrance exam was to be hiked from Rs. 1500 to a massive Rs. 10,000 for JET 2020. Resisting this hike, as it is exclusionary to most of the aspirants seeking to apply this year, students of FTII-SRFTI sat on a hunger-strike. This was followed by emergency governing council meeting that agreed to review the annual fee hike and also revoke the entrance fee. The administration has ‘in principle’ agreed to reduction of the fees.
The anti-fee hike movement which spurred in different campuses in the past few months has rattled the government and the authorities. While these protests in Ayurvedic Colleges in Uttarakhand, in JNU, AIIMS, IITs, IIMC and other institutes made the MHRD roll back the proposal of fee hike for MTech in IITs. The effect of students across the country demanding affordable education, and willing to fight for it, has challenged the government. Imposing fee hikes in campuses is no longer an easy task for the government. It is sure to meet with unprecedented resistance from students.
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