Grant-in-aid: Students protest Govt. decision

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, FEB. 23. Around 10,000 students from six City colleges took out a rally on Friday, raising slogans against the Government for its decision to effect 15 per cent cut in grant-in-aid to private aided colleges. A large number of girls participated in the rally.

Holding aloft anti-Government and anti-Krishna placards, the students marched from St. Patrick's Grounds to the Queen's Statue near Cubbon Park. Students from the Hasanath College for Women, RBANMS College, St. Joseph's College of Commerce, St. Joseph's Arts and Science College, Mount Carmel College and St. Joseph's Evening College participated in the rally.

Due to the rally, traffic was diverted from key roads. A strong police force was deployed to avoid disturbances. However, the rally passed off peacefully.

While most students in the six colleges boycotted classes, student protests were also reported from other areas. Six hundred students of NMKRV College for Women, Jayanagar, in a signed statement, deplored the decision and urged the Government to reconsider it.

``This move to cut grants would mean a setback to the Government policy for providing education to women. It will have greater impact on girl students hailing from middle and lower middle classes,'' they said.

Meanwhile, the All-India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) has urged the students not to get carried away by the Government's assurance to reexamine the issue. ``Nothing short of total withdrawal of cut in grants should be accepted,'' it said in a release.

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Section  : Southern States
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