It is interesting how the discourse in the country goes back to civil society and its concerns, albeit in different avatars. The current post is inspired by the recent JNU fracas, although it does not concern itself with the details of the dispute. Reality here appears to have many versions, depending on who you talk to, Rashomon like, although I would myself consider the versions of JNU faculty known to me personally, reliable. Others are not so convinced, which is in fact one of the reasons for this post.
It's been startling to note that in an incident where students were attacked in their own hostels, rooms were vandalised, heads were broken and medical aid was held up for hours, well educated people ask questions like is JNU a good university? Yes it is, it is the top liberal arts university, and for those who have to reduce everything to a number, it is at the top of NIRF and NAAC rankings. However, were it at the bottom, would attacks on its students be justified?
Why are the students complaining about fee hikes? Again, nothing to do with the issues. Some hike may be justified, but the figures circulating in Whats App messages are plain wrong, since they conceal the fact the university fees are broken into many components, and quoting only some of them fudges the fact that overall what a student pays is only a little below the market rate! Some universities have a mandate to make high quality education accessible to socially disadvantaged sections. This of course opens a Pandora's box of questions like all others. Q. Are they really socially disadvantaged? A. Please compare the demographic with any Delhi college. Q. How much do they spend each month on their internet packs? How would I know? And how do you know, either? Q. Why are they in the University at 27? They are research scholars, that's why. It takes that long to get a Ph. D. It is an advanced degree, in fact a terminal degree. Q. Why does it take that long to do African studies? A. This one foxed me. Why should it take less time than anything else? Q. Why are they paid a stipend? A. This is because they are doing work for the University, and are in fact paid much less than what their work warrants, since it is work towards their own degree!
To summarise, sections of society believe that civil rights are not a given, it all depends on your CGPA. Public universities are a drain on the tax payers money, privatise all education. Liberal arts are a waste of time, and are unreliable, anyway. The well educated should not waste time with politics. If you don't agree with us, you are against us (us patriots, that is), and disenfranchisement is what should be coming to you. It is however heartening to note that, for once, other sections are putting up a fight. Let's see which way the cookie crumbles.
This blog post is by Neelima Gupte.
Addendum: (For other editions of this theme, though not quite directly related, see link1 and link2).
JNU is Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. NIRF is the National Institute Ranking Framework carried out by the Ministry of Human Resources (aka MHRD) of the Govt. of India. NAAC is the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, which is an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC), India. CGPA is the Cumulative Grade Point Average. I'm sorry I confused people with the acronyms. We use them all the time, and so take them for granted.
It's been startling to note that in an incident where students were attacked in their own hostels, rooms were vandalised, heads were broken and medical aid was held up for hours, well educated people ask questions like is JNU a good university? Yes it is, it is the top liberal arts university, and for those who have to reduce everything to a number, it is at the top of NIRF and NAAC rankings. However, were it at the bottom, would attacks on its students be justified?
Why are the students complaining about fee hikes? Again, nothing to do with the issues. Some hike may be justified, but the figures circulating in Whats App messages are plain wrong, since they conceal the fact the university fees are broken into many components, and quoting only some of them fudges the fact that overall what a student pays is only a little below the market rate! Some universities have a mandate to make high quality education accessible to socially disadvantaged sections. This of course opens a Pandora's box of questions like all others. Q. Are they really socially disadvantaged? A. Please compare the demographic with any Delhi college. Q. How much do they spend each month on their internet packs? How would I know? And how do you know, either? Q. Why are they in the University at 27? They are research scholars, that's why. It takes that long to get a Ph. D. It is an advanced degree, in fact a terminal degree. Q. Why does it take that long to do African studies? A. This one foxed me. Why should it take less time than anything else? Q. Why are they paid a stipend? A. This is because they are doing work for the University, and are in fact paid much less than what their work warrants, since it is work towards their own degree!
To summarise, sections of society believe that civil rights are not a given, it all depends on your CGPA. Public universities are a drain on the tax payers money, privatise all education. Liberal arts are a waste of time, and are unreliable, anyway. The well educated should not waste time with politics. If you don't agree with us, you are against us (us patriots, that is), and disenfranchisement is what should be coming to you. It is however heartening to note that, for once, other sections are putting up a fight. Let's see which way the cookie crumbles.
This blog post is by Neelima Gupte.
Addendum: (For other editions of this theme, though not quite directly related, see link1 and link2).
JNU is Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. NIRF is the National Institute Ranking Framework carried out by the Ministry of Human Resources (aka MHRD) of the Govt. of India. NAAC is the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, which is an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC), India. CGPA is the Cumulative Grade Point Average. I'm sorry I confused people with the acronyms. We use them all the time, and so take them for granted.
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