An All India Universities Convention was organised by the JNUTA and JNUSU where speakers criticised the Modi government for “destroying higher education” and “public-funded education.”
New Delhi: Nine JNU students, who were on an indefinite hunger strike against the administration, ended their fast after a ‘declaration’ was adopted by the teachers’ association and the students’ union.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) made a ‘Sabarmati Declaration’ to vote out the Modi government to safeguard higher education.
An All India Universities Convention was organised by the JNUTA and JNUSU where speakers criticised the Modi government for “destroying higher education” and “public-funded education.”
“This election, if they form the government, probably everything would be finished. Every institute is being headed by clones of Modi,” said Anand Teltumbde of the Goa Institute of Management.
He was arrested for his alleged Maoist links in connection with the Elgar Parishad case.
“JNU 11 have resolutely sat on an indefinite Hunger Strike to Save Education & Save Universities against the JNU VC’s latest move to destroy JNU’s model of socially accessible and affordable education. The irresponsible and insensitivity of the VC has been displayed across the country and beyond. University communities across the country and across the world have once again been witness to the Modi government’s appointed JNU VC’s undemocratic functioning and his utter insensitivity,” a statement by JNUSU said.
The historic Declaration has decided to vote out the Modi Government in order to evict 100’s of Mamidala’s who are destroying higher education in various Universities. Members of more than 20 universities across the country and student-teachers of JNU have pledged to vote out Modi Government in order to save higher education.
JNUTA president Atul Sood alleged the government has “destroyed” primary and secondary education and access to education has been “completely taken away”.
“The past five years have seen a concerted attack on the public funded university and other institutions of higher learning,” he added.
The declaration adopted by the JNUTA and JNUSU demanded “substantive autonomy for public education”, “socially responsible and transformative public education”, expansion of public education and that public education must be publicly funded.
In a reading of the Sabarmati declaration (Adopted by the JNUTA National Convention of Universities — ‘Shiksha, Samajik Nyay, Aur Sangharsh’ on 27 March 2018), Professor Atul Sood of JNUTA placed the following points: “Public education must be publicly funded. Academic institutions are in a state of collapse.” He added that they reject all these schemes and policies and at least 1.5 out of 6% of the GDP should be spent on education.
Eleven students were on a hunger strike on the campus in protest against the online system of entrance exam that will be implemented from this academic session and several other issues.
Six students fell ill at different stages and had to be hospitalised. The five remaining students were joined by four more students from Saturday. Nine of them called off their fast on Wednesday.
Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had on Monday alleged that some students forcibly entered his house and confined his wife and had later said he had “forgiven” them and would not file a complaint with the police.