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Students protest against `irregularities' in varsity

By Our Staff Correspondent

Mysore Aug. 7. Hundreds of students from the University of Mysore boycotted classes today and staged a dharna in protest against the alleged irregularities in the varsity and the education policy of the Government.

They took out a procession here in response to the call given by the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP) and the Adarsha Vidyarthi Kriya Samiti. The students criticised the university authorities for commencing postgraduate courses even before the final degree examination results were announced. Many students could not pursue postgraduate courses because of this, they said.

They demanded that the quota system for NCC cadets, NSS volunteers, and students who excelled in sports and cultural activities be continued.

They opposed the integrated semester system mooted by the university from the next academic year.

Referring to the alleged financial irregularities, the students said the audit report should be made public and an inquiry should be ordered into them.

They protested against the donation system in institutes of higher education and said this went against meritorious students from poor families. The commercialisation of higher education increased the donation menace, they added.

The students criticised the Government's decision to reduce the grant-in-aid by 15 per cent to institutes of higher education. The decision had affected private aided educational institutions.

They also opposed the ban on recruitment of teachers. The students' organisations claimed that the education system was on the verge of collapse because of the Government's policy.

They said government-run educational institutions lacked infrastructure and students in rural areas could not compete with their counterparts in urban areas. One of the major demands of the students was the reduction in fees for various courses.

They said CET forms cost Rs.1,000 against Rs. 350, while the fee for PG payment seats had been increased from Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000.

Referring to the increase in bus pass fee, the students said the Government was exploiting them in a "systematic manner".

Tension prevailed for some time when the Registrar (Evaluation) invited the students for talks and the latter demanded that the Vice-Chancellor hear their plea.

The personal assistant to the Vice-Chancellor promised the students that the demands pertaining to the university would be considered.

He also promised that the university would continue the quota system during the current academic year.

Security was tightened to prevent any untoward incident and traffic was diverted from the Crawford Hall.

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