Stop The Dam Busters

The fiery protests were soaked, but not doused, in the driving rain. Ostensibly, the campus agitation that erupted at Calcutta바카라�s Jadavpur University on the afternoon of July 4 and continued to simmer unabated thr­ough the next couple of weeks바카라�all through torrential rains in the monsoon-wrapped city바카라�was a student-teacher revolt against an arb­itrary decision by the institute바카라�s governing body, the executive council (EC). The EC had announced that starting this year it would scrap the practice of holding entrance tests for admissions to six of the undergraduate cour­ses of the university바카라�s arts programmes, going back on their decision taken in late June, which promised to stick with the established practice.

It meant that the only basis for getting admission in these departments바카라�English, comparative literature, history, philosophy, and international relations바카라�would be marks obtained in the 12th-standard final examinations. Incensed by the decision that would, it was deemed, inevitably lower standards and erode JU바카라�s reputation as a centre of excellence across India, students and professors descended on the campus, protesting what one professor calls the 바카라�complete disrespect for the university바카라�s high standards바카라�.

바카라�These tests are prepared by professors in each department and it has been the only way to ensure that the most deserving candidates are admitted from the thousands of applications,바카라� explains an English department pro­­fessor. He adds, 바카라�Final examinations conducted by different boards have different standards of marking and a student from one board who has scored high marks is not necessarily qualified to compete with students of another board with equal marks, bec­ause the latter may have taken part in a more challenging exa­­mination of a board with higher academic standards. Marks cannot be the only yardstick for judging merit.바카라�  Uni­ver­sity sources say the department of English relies 100 per cent on entrance test marks, while in international relations and history departments, admission test scores and 12th grade marks are given equal weightage.  

During the protests, students gheraoed the vice chancellor,  Suranjan Das, holding him up in his office for hours, demanding a retraction. Signature campaigns supported not just by students and professors but also former professors and alumni were sent to various authorities. Even­tu­ally, a group of students took recourse to a hunger-strike, during which two fell ill and had to be admitted to hospital.  

Yet, why jettison a system that, in the end, redounds to the credit of the varsity? What appeared to be an internal tussle was merely the unlovely facade of an insidious political game.

Explaining the circumstances that allegedly led to the EC decision, Om Pra­kash Mishra, a professor of international relations at JU and a Congress spokesperson, told Outlook, 바카라�Weeks back, state education minister Partha Chatterjee had said that while he was happy with the way most educational institutions functioned, he found two universities problematic; one of these was Jadavpur University.바카라�

Mishra says these observations by Cha­tterjee was a prelude made to clear the way for him to appoint people in key positions of the university바카라�s administration. 바카라�It is an open secret that the state government has been trying to infiltrate educational institutions by cramming it with people connected with the ruling Trinamool Congress. Pol­itical estab­li­sh­ments have alw­ays wan­ted to control educational systems as it gives them access to and control of the way education is imparted. But during the current rule the infi­ltration has become brazen.바카라�

As an instance, Mishra points out that for the first time ever,  the chairman of the state바카라�s higher education council is not an academic, but the education minister himself. 바카라�To further infiltrate the institutions, the government is trying to weaken the admissions process so that TMC party members can pour in unchecked. And the EC, instead of acting as the administration of an autonomous institution, is letting itself be dictated to by the state government,바카라� he adds heatedly.

Other opposition parties also didn바카라�t mince words against what seems a blatant state interference. BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose says, 바카라�It is disturbing to see that an institution of the stature of Jada­v­pur University is succumbing to political pressure.바카라� 

Over the past week, in the midst of the agitation, Calcutta바카라�s newspapers flashed photographs of vice chancellor Das near Partha Chatterjee바카라�s house, with captions and headlines wondering what he was doing there.  

Predictably, a Trinamool source stoutly denies the charge of infiltrating educational institutions. 바카라�That used to happen on a regular basis during the Left rule,바카라� he says. 바카라�Unless you were with the CPI(M) or CPI etc, you had little chance of getting a position in institutions, not just educational, but even the police force.바카라�

CPI(M) MP Mohammed Selim counters the charges, saying, 바카라�The agitation in the campuses across Bengal is happening now, when the Trinamool is ruling.바카라�

As the political mud-slinging thickened around them,  JU바카라�s faculty and students kept their eyes on the one goal바카라�to protect and uphold the 바카라�honour of Jadavpur University바카라�, as a student put it. 바카라�The admission test is a safety net to ensure that only the best are admitted to this prestigious institution.바카라�

Their persistence paid off. On July 10, the EC revoked its earlier decision and declared the restoration of admission tests. The VC, possibly to refute allegations that he acted under pressure from the powers that be, signalled that the retraction was not his choice and off­ered to resign. The brazen attempt to breach the ramparts of merit is beaten back for now.

By Dola Mitra in Calcutta