City students come out in support of protest at JNU

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 23

Student bodies in the city have come out in support of students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, who are protesting against the fee hike by the Central Government.

Members of these bodies said the government should not promote privatisation of education, but make education affordable for the masses. They said any kind of fee hike should not be implemented. The rent for a single room has been increased from Rs20 per month to Rs600 per month and for a double-sharing room from Rs10 per month to Rs300 per month.

Prince, president of the Phule Ambedkar Student Association, said:“Education is a fundamental right of everyone. We cannot keep education reserved for elites. The rights are guaranteed to all community. If the fee hike is implemented, students from the Below Poverty Line will not be able to better their life and society through their education. This is not acceptable to us.”

Students in the national capital are raising their voice against introduction of service charges for maintenance, mess workers, cook and sanitation and other charges in the hostel fee.

Ravinder Kaur, member of Punjab Students’ Union (Lalkaar), said: “This seems to be an attempt tat privatising educational institutions. The fee in all government-run institutions should be low. Our union supports the protest by JNU students.”

Some of the GNDU research scholars have also written a letter in support to students to the JNU authorities. Jatinder Vir Singh, a research scholar, said: “This is a classic case of dictatorship. Student unions were not taken to confidence before increasing the fee. The government should devise policies and plans to make education cheaper in institutions of higher education, especially in universities.”

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