Wednesday, 20 January 2010 20:21 Salai Pi Pi
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Over 80 students, including Burmese monks, on Tuesday held a protest rally at Nalanda University in India after the central government decided to strip it of its “deemed” status.
Indasara, a Burmese Buddhist monk studying at the university, on Wednesday told Mizzima that protestors, including Burmese, locals and students from other countries, gathered in front of the office of the Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, as their university was stripped off its “deemed” status by the Indian government.
“We condemn [the heads of the university] for not prioritizing the education of students and for lying to the students. They used the students to raise funds and to make money,” said Indasara, who has completed a M.A. course in Buddhism and is waiting to sit for an entrance exam into a Ph.D. course.
The Burmese monk said the students who demonstrated also accused the Vice-Chancellor of failing to focus on the development of the institution and demanded he quit his post.
“We got angry for wasting our time and money. The worst is the students who are doing their first and second semesters, as it [the status] will all be cancelled,” the monk said.
“Some [protesters] even tried to set fire to the school and cars,” he added.
The Human Resource Development Ministry of India on Monday told the Supreme Court to de-recognize the “deemed” status of 44 universities across India, including Nalanda University, on account of the lack of infrastructure and expertise.
“We are told that our university does not provide enough professors. Another reason is a low number of students,” Indasara iterated.
He said there are less than 600 students, including 97 students from Burma, studying at the institution.
When contact by Mizzima, staff at the Vice-Chancellor’s office of the university on Wednesday said Nalanda has since been closed.
Nalanda University is a popular learning center for Buddhist doctrines and Pali. It is presently under the jurisdiction of the Human Resource Development Ministry and had been granted “deemed” status in 2006.
However, despite its “deemed” status it is affiliated with Magadh University and Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University for various courses.
“It is very likely that students will be referred to affiliated universities for post-graduate courses,” the Burmese monk explained.
Indian Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in a press conference on Tuesday reportedly assured students studying at the 44 universities that though the universities are to be derecognized, their further study will not be affected.
"Not a single child, not a single student, will be adversely affected. Students of those universities will get a university degree," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
There are a total of 128 “deemed” universities across India.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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