Sri Vijaya Puram, Feb 11: CITU, Andaman & Nicobar State Committee extend its strong support and solidarity to the ongoing strike by College students of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The strike has been jointly conducted by all three students’ organisations SFI, NSUI and ABVP.
The students are demanding to review the decision of the Government of India bringing all the existing seven Colleges in A&N Islands under the newly established Deemed University which is yet to have its own campus, faculty and infrastructure, vide Gazette Notification No. 9-1/2023-U 3(A) dated 8th March, 2024 of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, New Delhi. At present, the colleges in these islands are affiliated with the Pondicherry University, which is one of the outstanding Universities in the country.
CITU notes with grave concern and anguish that the above decision of the Central Government is unilateral and without consulting the students’ orgnaisations, College Teachers’ Organisations, Employees’ organizations, political parties and elected representatives in the Zilla Parishad and other local bodies. Bringing all the existing colleges under the Deemed University will lead to increased fees for students, lack of facilities besides affecting academic quality. The certificates going to be issued by the Deemed University (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Institute of Higher Learning) will have no value in the job market in the country and abroad.
The decision of the Modi government to bring all the existing colleges under the Deemed University, disaffiliating it from the Pondicherry University, is part of Modi government’s policy of privatizing/commercializing higher education in the country. Students all over the country are fighting against these policies of the Modi government. CITU condemns the authoritarian move on the part of the Government of India and Administration not to have any meaningful dialogue with the striking students.
CITU Andaman & Nicobar Islands once again extend its solidarity with the heroic struggles being conducted by the students of these islands against the Modi government’s decision to disaffiliate their colleges from the Pondicherry University.