A novel initiative spearheaded by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to engage student leaders in the State’s post-flood rebuilding process has failed to yield the expected result. A three-hour conclave here on Tuesday could elicit only a handful of meaningful suggestions, despite witnessing an impressive attendance of nearly 500 delegates.
The Chief Minister’s Student Leaders’ Conclave was attended by union office-bearers of seven State universities and their affiliated colleges and officials of the Higher Education Department.
A few good ones
Among the few suggestions applauded by the Chief Minister included region-specific ones. A participant, hailing from a coastal community, called for waste management systems in rural and coastal areas. The inadequacy had led to the unbridled pollution of waterbodies. Another student raised the issue of frequent flooding in Kuttanad and sought a permanent unit of the State Disaster Management Authority in the region. There were calls to utilise the technical expertise of the student community for the rebuilding efforts.
Mr. Vijayan scoffed at certain ideas raised by the representatives. The demands made to withdraw welfare pensions schemes, reservation for various sections, and steps to encourage one-child families did not go down well with the Chief Minister, who expressed disappointment at the quality of several suggestions.
Academic concerns
Many participants veered away from the programme’s theme to raise academic problems that concerned the student community. A few called for provisions to enable students to internally assess teachers in colleges, and to evolve a scheme to ensure jobs for all graduates. While responding to the proposals, the Chief Minister delved on the need to maintain discipline in educational institutions.
Speaking at the conclave, Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel dismissed the criticism raised against the government’s initiative to organise a student leadership tour to the U.K. Dr. Jaleel said it required a socially responsible government to identify the needs of the students and expose them to global practices. While the initiative was confined to the union chairpersons of government colleges, the scheme would be extended to other colleges in future, he said.
