KATHMANDU, July 12: With fissures in the alliance of 13 student unions that spearheaded last year´s agitation against Tribhuvan University (TU)´s decision of phase out Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL), resistance to the country´s oldest varsity´s move to get rid of responsibility of school education has weakened.
A meeting of student unions, which was supposed to launch a fresh round of agitation against TU´s decision to phase out PCL without the government strengthening hundreds of community-based +2 schools, ended up inconclusively on Monday with three of the major constituents of the alliance pitching different views on the objectives and outlines of a new agitation. [break]
During Monday´s meeting, while leaders of Nepal Students Union (NSU) and All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) stressed for an agitation with objectives of pressing the government for expressing commitments toward upgrading community +2 schools before TU doing away with PCL, the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students´ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) attempted to persuade other unions for creating obstacles to the largest university´s latest move.
"Our objectives mismatched," said ANNFSU President Ram Kumari Jhakri. "We see no point in pressing TU to postpone its protracted plan once again. But our ´revolutionary friends´ are resolute not to let TU phase out PCL."
According to Jhakri, forms of agitation floated by ANNFSU, NSU and ANNISU-R also vary. "We are not for padlocking TU offices this time around," she said. "But, some unions want the same old modus operandi."
Other student unions affiliated with various fringe political parties are also divided over the objectives and forms of agitation. While some are close with ANNISU-R, others have toed the line of ANNFSU and NSU. However, myrepublica.com´s repeated attempts to contact ANNISU-R President Lekh Nath Neupane for his reaction failed.
After years of futile attempts of getting rid of PCL, TU seems hell bent on doing away with it from this academic year. Nonetheless, the government´s failure to fulfill its past promises has catapulted student unions into mulling a fresh agitation.
Last year, following a violent agitation, the Ministry of Education (MoE) had struck an agreement with the student unions under which the government would strengthen +2 schools by upgrading their infrastructure and providing more posts of teachers among others.
Student unions have accused the government of not fulfilling even a single promise. However, the government maintains that it has fulfilled some of them.