AISF urges Kerala government to withdraw Act permitting private universities
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, A. Adhin, newly elected State secretary of AISF, said the idea of private universities goes against the stated policy of the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
'We cannot ignore the fact that the private universities will have a detrimental effect on the State's education sector. Though the proponents of the Act claim that it will be effective in controlling the migration of students to other countries, the Kerala Migration Survey points out other factors, including quality of life, for such migration. Despite the government's claim that it will have a control over the fee structure in private universities, the experience in the other States shows that this is not always possible. The government should understand the fact that the private universities have only led to a fall in the quality of education,' said Mr. Adhin.
The AISF also demanded that the State government appoint a commission to study the fee hikes in Central as well as State universities. 'The fee hikes have made higher studies unaffordable to a large section of students. The commission should be formed with representatives from student organisations, said Mr. Adhin.
The State conference of the AISF which was held in Palakkad district last week also passed a resolution calling for the disbanding of the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the frequent lapses related to the conduct of major examinations, causing uncertainty for a large number of students. The responsibility for the conduct of examinations should be returned to the University Grants Commission (UGC) as well as the universities as the NTA has been functioning in a non-transparent manner, it said.
Joint fight against terrorism
The organisation also called for a joint fight against terrorism, in the light of the terror attacks targeting tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir.
The State conference also elected a 19-member State executive and 65-member State committee. Bibin Abraham was elected as the State president, while M. Rahul, Nadirah Mehrin, Krishnapriya, S.Govind and P.A. Ismail were elected as the State vice presidents. Aslam Shah, K.A. Akhilesh, Jobin Jacob, B. Darshith and P. Anras were elected as joint secretaries.
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'They told us to wait. Suddenly, I was pushed out of the gate, and my father was locked inside,' Mannan recalled. 'Later, a large police vehicle came and took him away.' Karim Ali had previously spent five years in a detention centre in Goalpara District Jail – before the Matia detention centre started functioning – after being declared a foreigner by a high court order. He was released during the COVID-19 pandemic following a Supreme Court directive to decongest detention camps. His wife, Saburjan Nessa, said he returned home severely ill. 'His health had deteriorated badly. He had been forced to eat rotting and low-quality food in the camp," she said. Since his disappearance, Ali's family has desperately been searching for him. They visited the Matia detention centre, but received no answers. The police officials only said, 'We know as much as you do.' With the help of a human rights group, the family has approached the Gauhati high court. His lawyers suspect that Ali, too, has been "pushed back" into Bangladesh. Kazi Sharowar Hussain (Kazi Neel) is a filmmaker, journalist and a poet from Barpeta, Assam. He heads Itamugur Community Media, a platform that amplifies the voices of the marginalised communities.
