E-Paper
Fight against paper leaks is a fight to protect students’ dreams: Neha Bora
“Pune is an education hub, yet we see such serious mismanagement in examinations. For many students, clearing these examinations is seen as the route to changing their family’s circumstances. When irregularities occur, their dreams are affected,” she said.
Prefer HTon Google
Pune: The student movement must go beyond examination irregularities and fight for access to education, social justice and democratic rights, said All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora while addressing students at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Wednesday.
Speaking at ‘Student Dialogue: Gen-Z Rising (Pune Chapter)’, organised jointly by student organisations, Bora said educational opportunities available to women, Dalits, and students from deprived communities resulted from the struggles of earlier generations and must be protected. “We must ensure these doors remain open for future generations,” she said.
Criticising alleged mismanagement in competitive examinations conducted by the UPSC and state public service commissions, Bora said irregularities affected students who spent years preparing for these exams.
“Pune is an education hub, yet we see such serious mismanagement in examinations. For many students, clearing these examinations is seen as the route to changing their family’s circumstances. When irregularities occur, their dreams are affected,” she said.
“This is not merely a fight over a paper leak. It is a fight to protect the dreams of students from being destroyed,” she added.
Referring to the legacy of Savitribai Phule, Jyotirao Phule and Fatima Sheikh, Bora said the student movement should draw from their struggle for social and educational equality. She also criticised what she described as attempts to weaken reservation and other social justice measures.
Speaking to the media after the programme, Bora said her ongoing nationwide student tour had received an “overwhelming” response. She said students across states were raising issues ranging from hostel conditions and scholarships to examination irregularities and the NEET controversy.
She said the objective was not to replicate earlier nationwide student movements but to bring about broader social change. “The objective is not only to put pressure on people sitting in Parliament. There is a need to change the conversations happening in our drawing rooms, tea shops and relationships. The system needs an overhaul where the politics of hatred is replaced by the politics of solidarity and unity,” she said.
The event, held near the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue at SPPU, focused on privatisation of education, rising fees, unemployment and students’ democratic rights.
