STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) on Tuesday opposed the State Government's decision to deny free admission to students with backlogs.
In a letter to the Assam Chief Minister and Education Minister, AASU president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Samiran Phukon said the fee-waiver scheme for students from financially weaker families had helped many students below the poverty line pursue higher education. They insisted on retaining free admission for all students from families below the poverty line.
The students' body said the basis of the free admission scheme was the economic condition of a student's family and not academic performance or marks. It argued that a student's family did not become better off merely because the student had failed a subject and that imposing an additional financial burden on such students was discriminatory.
AASU opposed the government's latest decision to provide only a 50 per cent fee waiver to students with backlogs. It demanded the immediate withdrawal of the notification and a 100 per cent fee waiver for such students.
The organisation also demanded that the full admission fees paid by students who had already deposited the amount, including those who had borrowed money to do so, be refunded as soon as possible.
AASU further sought clear instructions on whether the free admission scheme would apply to fourth-year students under the four-year undergraduate degree. It demanded that the waiver cover the entire four-year course, from the first to the fourth year, and that the government issue clear guidelines on the matter.
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