Mount Carmel College was founded by the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa in 1944 in Thrissur, under the title of Carmel College in the State of Kerala. It was relocated to Bangalore in 1948, with the objective of meeting the higher education needs of women, particularly those from minority communities. Since then, the institution claims to be dedicated to empowering women from socio-economically disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds. However the recent development does not support this claim as the institution has made an undemocratic move affecting the women. The college currently has a total strength of 7500 students from various educational levels ranging from Undergraduate to PhD.
On the 4th of January, the management declared its decision, through an instagram post, to transform Mount Carmel College from a women’s college to a coeducational institution starting from the next academic year 2024-25. With this announcement comes numerous concerns that the management has chosen to dismiss and overlook.
Many students who come from conservative households are being forced to discontinue their education in this institution that has always claimed to empower them. The seats that would otherwise be occupied by women will be open to men once this decision gets implemented. Mount Carmel College being a women’s college is one of the chief reasons why a lot of students took admission here. Such a huge decision that would alter a significant aspect of the college would technically amount to a breach of agreement, as this decision is being implemented while the current batches of students are still in the middle of their courses. Moreover, the undemocratic manner in which the decision was taken is appalling. Students were not involved in the decision- making process in any way. Growing concerns about the safety and security of the students on campus is another factor to note. The inadequacy of the infrastructure on campus to facilitate this decision is concerning. Furthermore, the students have also had to face a lot of misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic comments particularly after the announcement of this decision, which leads to concerns regarding the space for women and queer people getting shrunk.
The students of Mount Carmel College carried out a signature campaign against this unjust decision of the management. It received massive support from students as over 1,200 signatures were collected. It was submitted to the management along with a letter containing the concerns and the principal demand that this decision be revoked and there be a democratically elected student body to prevent such incidents in future. The management, however, responded with apathy to the plight of the students, clearly showing that they are more concerned about profiteering than students.
The undemocratic manner in which this decision was taken clearly exposes the limitations resulting from the absence of a democratically elected student body that would represent students and voice their concerns. The undemocratic and authoritative nature of the management is not a new phenomenon, as it is widely seen in campuses across the country. Students are the primary stakeholders of any institution, and have to organize in order to exercise their democratic rights.
