Politics in education could cause damage to Jadavpur University's reputation

Image of Politics in education could cause damage to Jadavpur University's reputation | Education Blog Photo

Jadavpur University is one of the most reputed colleges in the country. The reputation of the college has been held for a very long time. The college is known to have the strictest policies regarding the promotions of students from one semester to another. For the first time in history the college has been influenced by one of the existing students union in the college. The union has influenced the college to change their promotion grounds from the next semester. The college has taken the decision to do so.

Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad in action:

Trinamool congress Chatra Parishad is one of the most dominant forces in the city. This is a student’s run organization of the ruling party in West Bengal. They have recently come to power in last October. They were a minor organization in the past few years but ever since the day Mamata Banerjee became the CM of the state they have become more dominant than any other student run organization in the state. They have taken matters in their own hands and they are influencing the authorities to fulfill their demands. They have the political advantage and they know how to use it.

The demand:

They have demanded that the promotion of a student should not be based on the semester results. They have asked the university authorities to change the regulation. According to them a student should be promoted to the next semester even if he fails to clear his papers in the current semester. This was a big decision to make. The college authorities made this decision immediately without going into any kind of discussion with the other bodies or even the stake holders of the University.

The other bodies:

Over the years other students union have ruled in the college. There has been the SFI, AFSU, FAS and FETSU. There have been no complaints against these unions over the years. This is the first time that the college authorities have named a single organization responsible in influencing the decision. This could be a bad bargain as the students will no longer have the urge to study. They know that they will be promoted to the next class even if they do not clear their papers. So the reputation and the educational standards of the University could be in jeopardy now.

What the teachers had to say?

The teachers and the JUTA were not at all pleased with the decision. They protested against the decision of the university. They went on to complain to the authorities. They demanded an explanation as to why there was no discussion with the JUTA regarding such an important decision. However some teachers feel that this decision has both negative as well as positive effects. The negative side is that the students will not study now. The positive side is that the students will have a lot of studying to do in the final semester in order to clear the course. The students will study then.