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Dimapur, June 24 (EMN): Nagaland unit of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) has urged the state government to compulsorily promote students of 1st and 2nd semester and waive off fees for the presently enrolled students.
In a representation to Nagaland Chief Minister, NSUI cited that an online survey was undertaken by the students’ body wherein it was found that a large number of students wanted the university and college administrations to 'culminate the present semester on the present month of June 2020 itself and continue 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. Any conduction of physical examination in the present climate would risk the increased chance of community infection. Also, hostel facilities across the universities of Nagaland have been transformed into quarantine centres,” it stated. NSUI expressed apprehension that making students come back and reside in such quarantine zones at times when the pandemic continues would put their lives in extreme danger.
It also stated that the final year students should be allowed to graduate based on the performance in previous years with an additional 10% marks.
"This would ensure every student could graduate in time without risking the health and safety of themselves including their family members," it read.
Further, it said that majority of the students and their families are 'out of source of income and livelihood (except government employees) making the financial burden of fees unsustainable for them.'
"Students have come forward to us 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," it stated.
NSUI, therefore, requested the government to waive off interest on education loans for at least six months while providing an extra six months to the start of repayment date of such students so that such loans by lending institutions don’t turn into NPAs, read the statement.