DIMAPUR, JUNE 24 (MExN): The National Students Union of India (NSUI), Nagaland branch has written to the Government of Nagaland seeking promotion of students across universities and colleges of Nagaland and fee waiver for present enrolled student.
In a letter to the Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio said that the students are facing extreme uncertainties and mental pressure due to lockdown as they don’t know the present status of their classes and examinations.
Through an online survey undertaken by NSUI and petition at change.org; a large number of students pressed for the demand that the university administration culminates the present semester on the present month of June 2020 itself and continues with the subsequent semester at the earliest once lockdown measures have been removed.
The present experimentation with online classes has not been successful across Nagaland as students belonging to interior rural areas are facing difficulty with connectivity making online classes and scope of online examinations a luxury available to only few, the NSUI said.
It noted that any conduct of physical examination in the present climate would risk the increase chance of community infection. Also, Hostel facilities across the Universities of Nagaland have been transformed into Quarantine Centers. “Making students come back and reside in such quarantine zones at times when the pandemic continues put their lives in extreme danger,” the union said.
It therefore asked the CM to consider the option of compulsory promotion of students in 1st and 2nd year to their subsequent semesters. The NSUI also recommended that the final year students should be allowed to graduate based on the performance in previous years with an additional 10% marks.
Meanwhile, it pointed out that students across the spectrum are under acute financial distress due to lockdown.
Universities across Nagaland have been on a lockdown for past 2 months and continuing, while most of the present semester, education has not taken on campus facilities for which such fees is charged, it added.
The NSUI informed that students have come forward stating that if no fees waiver is provided, they have to drop out of their higher education to look for manual jobs in order to sustain themselves and their families.
Considering this, the union urged the Government to waive their fees under financial packages provided by the Central Government. It also called for waiver of interest on education loans for at least 6 months while providing an extra 6 months to the start of repayment date of such students so that such loans by lending institutions don’t turn into NPAs.
