Azim Premji University will be holding student council elections for the first time since they have moved to the Sarjapura campus. These council elections follow years of students demanding representation and a voice on campus. But even though elections are happening, the student demands regarding the conducting of a free and fair election with adequate student participation have not been met. After the tragic suicide of a classmate last semester the students put forward a memorandum demanding many structural changes in the university. The most important of the demands was the adding of student representation to the Disciplinary committee and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) committee. These demands have not yet been met. In fact students have been told to campaign only within the agendas of the council seats that are up for election.
On top of that the very structure of the council and the committees students will be on is flawed. In every committee the students have no decision-making power and are outnumbered by members belonging to the administration. The power to amend the student constitution itself is under the veto of the registrar office.
The Election Notification also strays away from the Constitution that was drafted, without any sort of clarifications. The Constitution mandates multiple representatives for some Committees while the Election Notification lays down that the contestations will only happen for one seat per Committee. This especially plays out in the Program Office Committee which oversees the functioning of the various Programs across Undergraduate and Postgraduate Levels. The Notification mandates that one student each across UG and PG will be responsible for all the Programs. This system will inevitably cause divisions within the student members of the University.
Another important point to note is the absence of election on Student Affairs Committee and the Disciplinary Committee, wherein demands for student representatives have been in place for a long time. These two Committees play a huge role affecting life in campus and general well being of students. Arbitrary and non-transparent decision-making history of these Committees are important issues that need to be addressed but the apathy of the managerial body has been a constant hindrance. Apart from these, there is evidently an increase in semester fees annually, food is being made inaccessible for the majority of the students through price hikes, and a host of other issues, making the university space inaccessible for students coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Election should not turn a blind eye to the real demands that form the fundamental problems of an educational institution. The student body should constantly work towards decimating the status quo that exists within such spaces through demanding students’ interests to be upheld.
