Guwahati, July 10,2008
Today the All Guwahati Students’ Union (AGSU), a unit of AASU demonstrate their anger over Union HR minister Arjun Singh on the seat cut off from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) of the Assamese or regional students on the reservation basis by burning his effigy.
The AGSU protesters came on the road today and burnt Singh’s effigy to protest against the diplomacy of the reservation policy and to establish the demand to console the situation fast. With having the obstacles from the local security the furious protesters roared against the HRD minister and the Central Government to play with the regional talents and sentiments. “Till 2007, each of India’s 20 NITs was allowed to reserve 50 per cent seats for students from the state in which they function. The remaining 50 per cent seats formed part of a “central pool” which, till now, has been filled on the basis of proportional representation But the decision by the Union human resource development ministry ended proportional representation means that students will be admitted strictly on the basis of merit to the remaining seats”, informed Dipankar Nath, President of AGSU.
Lately, Arjun Singh, HRD minister, Government of India drawn a new outline for the credit in reservation issue. But he has been alleged to be de-reserved, without consultation with the states where a part of the seats in the Regional Engineering Colleges now called “National Institute of Technology”. “Removal of the word ‘regional’ suggest the ascendancy of the centralising mind set in the federal India” said AGSU.
Citng the history Samiran Baishya, Former GS of Cotton Collegeaggitated, “It has witnessed always the deprivation for Assamese students in National education system as well as in job security and now they are also planning the cut short the opportunity to study for us. We won’t tolerate this things and will move a mass movement to rectify the procedure”.
While Ashis Chakraborty, an Engineering student added that minister issued a circular that threatens to reduce the number of students getting into these ‘national’ institutes from the north east leading to a widening of the gap in national average.The region’s average in the opportunity to get technical education per lakh person.
Assam has the sole NIT in Silchar where out of 460 seats 230 seats are for the students of the state, who have qualified in AIEEE, in order of merit. The rest 230 seats are up for exchange with the seats of the NITs in other states. Therefore, the first category is kind of reserved and second category too is reserved in the sense that it opens a vista for the students of the state to get into NITs in other states offering choice of subjects.But the present circular will put an end to the second category will be filled up from the All-India merit list. “As Assam students have an average of little lower ranks than the other parts of the country the seats of Silchar NIT will now be filled up by students from these states without Assam’s earlier entitlement to exchange those seats for her students in other NITs” said Nath.
Fearing this decision of the Ministry, though Assam Govt. has already decided to increase 300 engineering seats in Assam to compensate for the loss of seats outside the state once the new admission policy to National Institutes of Technology (NIT) is enforced, the AGSU is still in their voice over the central authority on the cut off of the reservation. “We don’t trust the present Govt. and so AGSU also threaten the authority to act rationally or to face massive stirs soon” warned Dipankar.
