DUSU polls: March held over absence of SOL, NCWEB students’ issues in manifestos

Highlighting the “invisibilisation” of issues of over six lakh School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) students during DUSU poll campaigning, the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) on Friday took out a “Self-Respect March” on the DU campus, accusing all candidates of ignoring them.

The KYS, an independent student organisation, said SOL and NCWEB students, who form the overwhelming majority of DU’s student community and largely come from government schools and deprived backgrounds, continue to face systemic neglect in access to classrooms, libraries, study material, transport concessions and academic counselling, even as DUSU aspirants focus on regular-mode students.

KYS alleged that none of the organisations contesting the ongoing Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections has included the problems of SOL and NCWEB students in their manifestos, despite these modes accounting for a massive share of DU’s enrolment.

“Just because they do not have any vote, their issues do not get voted on,” a KYS representative said during the march, adding that the concerns of marginalised students have been pushed out of the mainstream of student politics.

The organisation pointed to poor quality of SOL study material, riddled with errors and anomalies, and inadequate academic support as key grievances. It also highlighted the lack of proper access to basic student facilities, including libraries, transport concessions and counselling, for informal-mode learners.

KYS criticised the continuing influence of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, which debar informal-mode students like those from SOL from participating in student union elections.

Recent manifestos released by major DUSU contenders such as ABVP and NSUI have centred on issues like student housing, women’s safety, metro concessions, mental health services, academic reforms and campus infrastructure, but make no specific reference to SOL or NCWEB students, they added.

Against this backdrop, KYS said the Self-Respect March was meant to “change the very ground of student politics” by forcing the inclusion of deprived and informal-mode students’ issues into the core agenda.

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The organisation appealed to students across DU to join its ranks for what it called an “alternative politics of working for real change.”

Polling for the DUSU elections was underway on Friday, with students voting for the four central panel posts and college representatives in a closely watched contest involving the ABVP, NSUI and the AISA-SFI alliance. The counting will be held on Saturday, following which results will be declared.