Editorial
BCL's unabated violence
Will it ever stop?
THE Chattra League (BCL) has been hogging the media headlines ever since the AL came to power all for the wrong reasons. And their destructive activities have caused a large number of educational institutions to close down, causing serious problems to the great majority of students who are earnest about pursuing their studies.
It seems odious too that a member of the PM's cabinet would try to draw comfort by comparing percentage wise the number of educational institutions that were forced to close down as a result of BCL violence with the total number of such institutions in the country. The latest round of clashes has occurred in a JNU hall of residence.
What is perhaps most outrageous is the fact that the pall of uncertainty that is pervading the universities and colleges in the country is the result of intra Chattra League fighting. And the infighting is going on despite the call to the BCL by the PM to desist from violence. Where the PM and her advisors have gone wrong is that they have failed to take stern action against the perpetrators and the unruly members of its student wing. Merely suspending their activities is not enough.
The turf war, and the fight over the control of the shoddy business deals in some of the halls of residence, as well as fight for tenders, have been largely responsible for the clashes that have by now caused the death of several students and injuries to many.
An added phenomenon to the extortionary activity of the AL's student wing has to do with the so-called 'political admission.' Allegedly, members of BCL cadres have pocketed huge sums by helping candidates in the waiting list, and those who had failed to get through the intake exams, to get admitted to some colleges in the capital using their muscle and clout. And they are being helped by a section of the staff, including some teachers of these institutions, as reported.
We have spoken ad nauseam on the matter in this column and about how this has vitiated the environment in the educational institutions by what can best be described as the unabated hooliganism by those claiming to be students, their demeanour and deportment suggesting anything but.
It was time the PM and the minister for education moved firmly to get a hold of the situation. Surely, the government's weakness for its student wing should not blind them to the need for providing a peaceful environment in the colleges and universities, which, regrettably, is not the case at the moment.
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