As the student movement in Himachal Pradesh University against fee hike and banning of student union elections gained momentum after the brutal police action, the State government has started giving indications of reaching at some amicable solution. The education bandh call given by the joint front of the SFI and the ABVP till September 25 affected teaching on the very first day in the State on Monday.
Law and orderChief Minister Virbhadra Singh had to call a meeting of the Principal Secretary (Education), vice-chancellor and other officials and they were directed to maintain law and order and normalise the academic atmosphere in all educational institutions across the State. A delegation of the NSUI also met the Chief Minister and requested him to roll back the decision of sudden fee hike in the university and affiliated colleges. Mr. Singh told the delegation that he would form a three- member committee under the chairmanship of a retired High Court Judge to look into the fee hike and other issues of the university students.
Meanwhile, the SFI and the ABVP claimed of a total boycott of classes by students on the campus and all affiliated government colleges of the State. Many Students were arrested, said Ashish Sikta and Munish Sharma of the Chhatra Ekta Munch, spearheading the agitation.
Basic rightShimla MLA and former HPU executive council member Suresh Bhardwaj said the incumbent government is snatching the basic right of higher education from the students by raising the fees from 100 per cent to 2000 per cent in one go. On the one hand the Chief Minister is providing luxury cars to his Ministers and Cabinet status to every third person, on the other he is finding the affordable education for the poor a wasteful expenditure, he said.
The State CPI-M and theKisan Sabha have also condemned the move to ban student elections in the university.
