Guwahati, Dec 26: The student community is the worst sufferer in case of any disturbance, natural calamities, and even because of government programmes. Students in the state lost one year of their educational careers during the Assam Agitation, while students of Manipur have been suffering for more than a year as regular classes are yet to resume there due to violence. Commenting on the issue, AASU president Utpal Sarma told The Assam Tribune that the political leaders always term the students as the future of the nation. "But if the present of the students is not secured, how can the future of the country be secured?" he questioned.
Sarma pointed out that the students of Manipur are suffering for more than a year. Those who have money have sent their wards out of the state for studies. But only a handful of people have that much money to send their wards out, he added.
Sarma admitted that students of the State lost one year during the Assam movement. "The AASU has learnt from the mistake, and now whenever any agitation is launched, adequate care is taken to ensure that the examinations are not affected," he added. He revealed that even during the anti-CAA movement, no agitational programme was taken up during the examinations.
The AASU president said that during the elections, the prominent colleges of the state are used as strong rooms for a long period, which seriously affects the academic atmosphere. He said that there are even instances where some college teachers get busy during the elections as they support one party or the other.
The AASU leader further said that teachers are often engaged in non-academic work, including election duty, census operations, etc., and teachers were also engaged in the conduct of government functions. This also seriously affects the functioning of schools. "There is an instance where the half-yearly examination in an area was postponed due to the Chief Minister's program," he alleged.
The AASU president said that during floods, educational institutions are often used as relief camps and the worst sufferers are the students as classes are affected for a long time. He pointed out that if the Government can construct highland in National Parks, there is no reason why shelter homes cannot be constructed in safe places to provide shelter to flood-hit people. The same shelter places can also be used as community halls or cultural centres during the dry season, he added.
By-
R Dutta Choudhury
