The politics of education

As the events unfolding at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi continue to draw attention from all sections across the nation, most people have begun to equate student politics with violence alone. Higher education institutions in the country are faced with a tough decision today, should campus politics be allowed to grow or  nipped in the bud? Colleges in Kerala had last year decided that no student organisation would be allowed to function on a campus without principal’s permission.  

One must keep in mind that this was coming from a state that had at one point seen very active student politics which had given birth to many ministers and leading politicians.

It might look as though the spirit is slowly fizzling out, but on a closer look, leftover embers of student politics can be seen trying to spread a fire every now and then.
Kerala Chronicle finds out what the new-gen students think of campus politics and the extremities that it brings to a campus environment.

Kerala’s campus politics had been going through a dull phase for a while now, students are encouraged to stay away from protests no matter what the cause.  It took some time for today’s students to muster up courage to talk about campus politics and to express their solidarity with the growing discord at JNU.      

On Thursday, students belonging to the SFI unit of the Sacred Heart College, Thevara, held a small protest along with the college union against the Sangh Parivar and in solidarity with the JNU.

When asked about the dying campus politics in colleges Angel Mary Mathew, Sacred Heart College Magazine Editor is of the view that students are interested in politics although campus politics is not as active as before.

“Students are well aware of the political situations. We join a college when we are 18  and I think we should be allowed to have a take on who we want to vote for. We should have campus politics by all means and when it comes to strike and protests, students must involve themselves in those activities where it is required.”

The Maharaja’s College was one of the first to come out in solidarity with the JNU. The college continues to remain highly active in campus politics, despite being given an autonomous status. Last year, the students’ protests had gone down history for their strong stand against granting autonomy to their college.

Speaking about campus politics, students union Chairman, Rohit Ajay says, “As students growing up in a democratic society, we should be well aware of politics and it starts from college. It is the right of the student to know and question the people who decide their educational fee, bus fare and the rates of the food we eat. Banning politics in campuses was a big mistake, I belive campus politics shapes responsible citizens.”

Deepa Nishant, Professor of Kerala Varma College,  strongly believes in the power of student community.  She says, “There is unrest in every campus because of the incidents at the JNU, Hyderabad University and FTII. Students such as Kanhaiya Kumar and Rohith Vemula are despised by certain people for what they stood by. Textbook learning alone does not complete a student. Campuses should have politics, if not for that, such protests would not have happened at these educational institutions.”

Simon Britto was the face of student politics back in the 80s. The wheelchair-bound former MLA, who damaged his spine in a campus clash between SFI and KSU back in his earlier days, continues to believe that campus politics is of utmost importance in shaping a student’s life. Speaking about the current condition of student politics here, he says, “College campuses are not active anymore although there are intermittent struggles in between. I have noticed that nearly 70-80 per cent of the college-going population are girls. During one of my visits to a college, it was disheartening to see that they were so weak they couldn’t even raise slogans properly. With new-gen courses, autonomy and a college management that does not listen to university, colleges cannot even organise proper elections today. College principals should stop becoming mouthpieces of the management. When religion can involve itself in education, then why can’t politics?”