Nov 23, 1998
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RAJASTHAN UNIVERSITY Tragic Fallout A student's fiery protest highlights the ills of the university. By Rohit Parihar
Bhardwaj died three days later in a Delhi hospital but the students' fiery protests in Jaipur continue. By setting himself on fire, Bhardwaj brought to the fore the miserable condition of the Rajasthan University. Trouble started in July when the university's non-teaching staff boycotted examination work because they could not reach an understanding with the VC over release of arrears and overtime allowance. Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat managed to get them to the negotiation table and they returned to work a month ago. The Government also released some of the money due to the employees and teachers. But problems persisted. Arrears amounting to Rs 2.25 crore haven't been distributed, it owes Rs 2 crore to suppliers and contractors, leave encashment worth Rs 2 crore is pending, medical reimbursement worth Rs 22 lakh hasn't been paid and overdrafts have touched Rs 5.5 crore already. Rajasthan University is the epitome of the education mess gripping many of the country's universities. In fact, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the apex authority of universities, has not been able to ensure that the universities run on schedule. Four years ago, the UGC despatched a letter to all universities asking whether they were following their academic schedules. Only 130 bothered to reply and since then even the UGC hasn't been able to compile a complete picture. Apparently, for the 1997-98 academic session, more than 30 universities are yet to conduct examinations. In many cases, examinations haven't been conducted for two to three years. Examinations are just the tip of the problem. In most universities, the mandatory 180 teaching days in an academic year is not adhered to. Because they are not accountable, teachers, even in Central universities, spend more time on coaching classes than classroom teaching. Sadly no one thinks of connecting accountability of teachers with their rising pay packets even though a nationwide teachers' strike on wages caused immense delay to the academic session this year. Says Union Minister for Human Resources Development Murli Manohar Joshi: "I refuse to connect the two -- a code of conduct has to come from within." It obviously hasn't. In Rajasthan, Rajagopal, a former state home secretary, had been brought in to clean up the university's mess, created by his predecessor R.N. Singh who was booked on corruption charges on Shekhawat's orders. But the deep-rooted problems of the university were beyond his administrative powers. Now Bhardwaj's immolation has forced a change with the Government appointing Kanti Ahuja, the former VC of Maharishi Dayanand University, as Rajagopal's successor. But the Government itself is cautious. Says Shekhawat, who decided to remove Rajagopal: "We cannot really interfere much in an autonomous body like the Rajasthan University." For her part, Ahuja has made a rash promise: all the results will be declared within 10 days. If she achieves this, it will be nothing short of a miracle. |
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Look at it from their point of view. Students of
Rajasthan University -- founded by Maharaja Man Singh as a premier institution of
Rajputana -- lived on the edge of despair: more than a lakh of them (about 50 per cent of
the university's total students) still awaited their results which were to have been
announced by August. Many of them had missed deadlines for competitive examinations while
others worried that they would miss out on job opportunities. To add to their woes, an
insensitive university administration wasn't giving the students any assurances. Something
had to give -- as it did on November 9. Nishant Bhardwaj, part of a student delegation
which was waiting for an audience with acting vice-chancellor V.I. Rajagopal, suddenly set
himself ablaze. 
