Student organizations protested against the Leeds-Metropolitan University, the first higher-education campus established by a foreign university in India, on Wednesday here.
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The protests, led by the All India Revolutionary Students Organization (AIRSO), the Revolutionary Students Federation of India (RYFI) and the Shiksha Adhikaar Manch, saw hundreds of students from several colleges marched to the gates of the Leeds-Met campus in Bhopal.
The protests were also supported by the All India Students Federation (AISF) and the Students Federation of India (SFI).
The Leeds-Met India campus is a joint venture between the Leeds Metropolitan University, U.K. and Jagaran Social Welfare Society (a non-profit organization owned by the Dainik Jagarn media group).
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Shouting slogans of “Leeds-Met, Quit India”, the students burnt an effigy of the “capitalist education model” and demanded free education from “KG to PG” (Kindergarten to Post Graduation).
The protesters said the university was the ground-level manifestation of the pending Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010 and called it the representative of a “capitalist system of education” in India.
“Degrees given out by the Leeds-Metropolitan University are completely illegal in India as this university has not been authorised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to do so,” noted educationist Anil Sadgopal told The Hindu.
“Neither the centre nor the state government is taking any action against them. This is just the beginning, once the Foreign universities bill is passed, Indian higher education scenario would be flooded by such expensive international university campuses who's bottomline is profit and not education for all,” said Mr. Sadgopal.
The protests against the university marked the penultimate day of the 12-day long protest against the “neoliberalization” and “marketization” of higher education in India, including a massive signature campaign against the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, which was approved by the union cabinet last year but is pending in the parliament.
The proposed legislation allows for a quick eight-month time-bound approval to foreign universities looking to set up campuses in India. The campuses set up by foreign universities will reportedly not be subject to quota/reservation obligations for the weaker sections.