Members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) held a demonstration highlighting several issues being faced by students and the public and protested against the policies of the State and the Union governments on Tuesday at Manipal.
Addressing members at Tiger Circle, NSUI Udupi district president Sourabh Ballal said students were being fleeced in the name of online classes. Several people have lost jobs, many businessmen have lost their businesses, and almost everyone was in distress. In such a situation, educational institutions had been demanding payment of full fee, he rued.
If students, who were administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, could attend college classes, what was the need for the second dose, he wondered. The government should bring out the statistics of students vaccination, Mr. Ballal said.
Stating that the Union government did not have any concern towards students, he cautioned that the student community that had been cooperating with the governments may not continue to do so if the anti-student policies were continued.
Criticising the fare hike by private bus operators, Mr. Ballal said the operators should have asked the government to reimburse their costs instead of passing on the burden to the common man.
The members demanded concession in college fee, starting classes only after students were administered both doses of the vaccine, and free student passes for students on KSRTC buses.
