Representatives of various student organisations, including AISA, NSUI and SCS, were detained by police on Wednesday ahead of a planned protest at the University of Lucknow against fee hikes. Demonstrators alleged the move aimed to curb opposition to rising education costs and the expansion of self-financed courses.
The students had gathered on campus for a sit-in against the recent fee revision and what they described as the growing commercialisation of education. However, protesters alleged that police intervened before the demonstration could begin, detaining several students and taking them to Eco Garden. They were released after some time.
The student organisations alleged that police detained them without legal justification, reportedly on the orders of proctor Rakesh Dwivedi.
Later, the student leaders also met Devendra Pratap Singh, MLC, regarding the fee hike and alleged irregularities in fee collection at the University of Lucknow. Following the meeting, Singh spoke to vice-chancellor J P Saini over the phone on the issue, the student groups claimed.
“Detaining students without any provocation exposes the fact that the administration has no answers,” said Shantam, president of All India Students’ Association (AISA), Lucknow University.
“This incident is not isolated. It is part of a clear, continuing pattern in which the university administration dismantled democratic space on campus, replacing it with an atmosphere of fear, coercion. The proctor who orders detention of peaceful students is known to extend patronage to violent elements associated with ABVP, who have repeatedly attacked teachers, staff, students,” the student unions alleged in a joint statement.
They alleged that fees in several programmes had increased between 40% and 200%, while thousands of new self-financed seats had been introduced. They said the transformation reflects privatisation of education, converting it from a public right into a purchasable commodity.
The students claimed that when they raised questions about these policies, administrators responded with repression rather than dialogue. Recently, when students sought accountability from the vice chancellor on fee hikes, he evaded them by leaving campus, they said.
The protesters asserted that fee increases, self-financed seat expansion disproportionately impact Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi, minority, women, queer, rural, first-generation learners. They claimed the shift was making education less accessible for economically weaker sections.
“What is happening at Lucknow University is not an isolated campus issue. It reflects a national direction towards privatisation of education,” said Prince Prakash, national coordinator of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
“Fee hikes and expansion of self-financed seats are pushing the most marginalised students out of education,” said Taukeel Ghazi of Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha (SCS).
www.hindustantimes.com
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