Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 05 February 2025
Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest on 4 February 2025 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya (JNRM) gate, opposing the establishment of a deemed university in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The protesters held placards demanding the creation of a central university instead.
The protest coincided with the visit of the Vice Chancellor of the newly established Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Institute of Higher Learning (NSCBIHL), a deemed university, who was on a campus tour of multiple colleges, including JNRM in Sri Vijaya Puram.
The demonstration took a dramatic turn when the protesting students, who were initially stationed at a different gate, rushed towards the Vice Chancellor’s vehicle upon learning that it was exiting through another gate. They managed to show their placards to the Vice Chancellor, expressing their opposition to the deemed university.
Later, ABVP leaders addressed the media, reiterating their demand for a central university for the islands. They voiced concerns that a deemed university would lead to higher tuition fees, making higher education unaffordable for students from economically weaker backgrounds.
“ABVP has been consistently demanding a central university for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We believe that establishing a deemed university will make education inaccessible to many due to the likely increase in fees,” an ABVP leader said during the media interaction.
The organization has been opposing the deemed university proposal since its inception, calling for the central government to fulfill their longstanding demand for a central university that ensures affordable and quality education for students in the islands.