AISA organises multiple campaigns and protest opposing the closure of government schools in Karnataka
Following the Karnataka government’s announcement to close 25,683 government schools and replace them with corporate-backed Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), AISA launched campaigns and protests to raise awareness among students. These were held in St. Joseph’s College, Chinappa Garden, Vasanth Nagar near Mount Carmel College, and Ramaiah College areas. On December 19, a protest took place at Mysore Bank Circle. Activists said the proposal would make education inaccessible to lakhs of poor children and violate the Right to Education Act’s neighbourhood school norms. They criticised the reliance on international finance, arguing it promotes privatisation and corporatisation of public education. Protesters demanded the immediate withdrawal of the merger proposal, allocation of 25% of the state budget to education, and strengthening of government schools through permanent teacher appointments and neighbourhood access to quality education.
Students of KIT stage protest against the university management for autonomous status
On December 11th, Students of Kanpur Institute of Technology(KIT) staged a protest challenging the university management’s decision to implement the rules of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) despite advertising its autonomous status at the time of providing admission to the students. This decision would mean the university wouldn’t have autonomous status and hence the students wouldn’t have access to better scholarships and placement opportunities. Students also cited collection of huge amount of examination fees and violence on the peaceful protesters.
Jamia Millia Islamia students receive show-cause notice for participating in the December 15th protest
On December 15th, Students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) held protests to commemorate the crackdown against the 2019 demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA). Days later, the students received show-cause notices by the university management for allegedly violating University rules. Students said that the gathering was peaceful and the show cause notices amounts to suppress dissent in the campus. Protesters demanded the withdrawal of the show cause notices asserting their fundamental right to peaceful assembly.
Killing of Angel Chakma Studying in Dehradun Sparks Protests
Various youth and students’ groups organised a candlelight march in Agartala, Tripura on 29th December to protest the brutal assault and subsequent death of Tripura student Angel Chakma in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun. He and his brother Michael were subject to racial slurs while being attacked with sharp objects by some locals. ‘We are Indians’ were his last words before being subjected to the xenophobic brutality that has become the norm today under the RSS-BJP. This follows multiple instances of attacks against migrant workers, particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims across India.
