The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : AISF urges Government to clarify stand on entrance test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 08, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

AISF urges Government to clarify stand on entrance test

Special Correspondent

"Set up panel to evolve system for selection of candidates"

CHENNAI: The All India Students Federation (AISF) has urged the State Government to clarify its stand on conducting an entrance test for admission to professional courses in Tamil Nadu.

AISF vice-president R. Thirumalai told a press conference here on Saturday that it would be useful if the Government set up a panel comprising academics and student representatives to evolve an effective system for selection of candidates.

Agitations

At the national level, the AISF will stage a series of agitations at different levels from next month, including a rally before Parliament in September, demanding effective measures to curb attempts to commercialise and communalise education.

Briefing newsmen on the decisions of the 26th national conference of the AISF, which concluded here on Friday, its newly elected general secretary Vijendra Kesari said if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was bent upon opening the door to foreign direct investment (FDI) in education, the federation would intensify its agitation.

Allowing FDI in this sector would jeopardise the national character and quality of education, besides denying millions of poor students access to education, he said.

Other demands

Ginu Zakharia Oomman, vice-president, said the agitation was also aimed at highlighting demands such as allocating more funds for the educational sector, stopping commercialisation of education, implementing measures to ensure education for all, evolving mechanism to control self-financing and private colleges, lifting ban on students' union elections and curbing attempts to impose dress code on women students.

Campus-level dharnas would be held in the first week of February. Protest demonstrations would be staged in major cities in March, he said.

The AISF meet elected a new team of office-bearers including P. Muralidhar (president), Mr. Oomman, Mr. Thirumalai and Nitul Bora (vice-presidents), Mahesh Kakat, Abhay Tasal and Tinkaj Saha (secretaries) and Permjeet Singh Dhabba (treasurer).

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