Student unions aim high, to press for central status to Panjab University, smart classrooms

CHANDIGARH: As student unions prepare for the upcoming Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections slated to be held on September 6, their manifestos and promises are aiming high.
The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Student for Society (SFS), two main contenders at the PU, have focused primarily on getting more infrastructure funds for the university - a task that has not been successfully achieved by the vice-chancellors of the PU.
In its manifesto released on Wednesday, the ABVP has promised to press for heritage or central status to the PU to ensure more funds for the university.
“The ABVP has written earlier too and visited the ministry of human resources and development for central or heritage status to PU. We will meet them again as student council if given a chance,” said Parvinder Singh Katora, general secretary of the ABVP.
The party has also promised to raise issues of shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff members, besides promising self-defense training to girls.
The ABVP’s also promises to make the PU plastic-free and press for smart class rooms and reading rooms.
While all the parties used to release manifestos earlier, most of them have only been announcing their promises without printing manifestos from past few years to save up funds.
The SFS has promised to fight against injustice, privatization and commercialization of education besides promising to “stop the rising intervention of the RSS in democratic spaces of the PU.”
The SFS promises also list fighting for faculty crunch at the PU and raising the issue of unemployment among the PU graduates.
“We will demand more hostels for the students. At present, only half of the PU students are able to get accommodation on the campus, while others have to live outside and pay high rents,” said Priya, SFS presidential candidate.
The Student Organization of Panjab University (SOPU) has remained grounded in its manifesto by promising more facilities on the campus. SOPU’s promises include improving food quality in hostels, installation of washing machines in boys’ hostel, increasing lightening during the night on the campus, increasing water coolers and getting more equipment for science labs.