The Hindu : New Delhi News : Students demand law on self-financing colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 03, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Students demand law on self-financing colleges

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 2. Calling for a 48-hour hunger strike in support of their demand for enactment of the Central legislation empowering State governments to control self-financing colleges, hundreds of students participated in a march to Parliament on Thursday.

Expressing their concerns in a letter to the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Arjun Singh, three student organisations -- Students' Federation of India, All India Students' Bloc and the All India Progressive Students' Union -- also demanded that the Government halt the process of commercialisation of education.

"The Supreme Court judgement in the T.M.A. Pai Vs State of Karnataka case has resulted in utter chaos in the arena of higher education and professional education.

The judgement has ruled against the control of government in the private unaided self-financing institutes. This has given a free hand to the private management to decide the mode of admissions, the fee to be collected and the appointment of teachers,'' the letter states.

While pointing out that private managements have started collecting exorbitant fee with merit being replaced by money, the student organisations feel deserving and qualified students are being deprived of their right to education.

Another concern, feel the students, is the permission given to many private universities to start deemed universities.

"This unhealthy trend is ruining the future of thousands of students in sub-standard institutions.

The government should take responsibility of the students studying in these institutes and ensure that they are suitably given admission in other institutes.''

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