Student politics and public university

Hasan Reza
Published : 24 Nov 2010, 04:42 PM
Updated : 24 Nov 2010, 04:42 PM

The past election victory of the Awami League alliance was followed by another event — change of status quo of the students' political organisations in the public universities. The student organisations, Chattra Dal and Chattra Shibir were ousted from many campuses. We thought that the reign of the bullies would come to an end! This did not happen. Rather, we were forced to embrace the political and social anarchy of Chattra League. Within a very short span of time, Chattra League has been able to crown (!) itself as the de facto administrator of many public universities. Make no mistake, what these cadres have been practicing is not "student politics"; it is raw self-aggrandisement, the posturing of power for financial rewards.

Our public universities are in a state of crisis by this "Sinbad-Ghost-Syndrome" of student politics [according to Arabian Nights, Sinbad, a sailor of Basra, was enslaved by a ghost — 'Old Man of the Sea', who rode on Sinbad's shoulder, fastened his legs around his neck so clung and forced him to carry the ghost relentlessly until Sinbad would welcome death; a similar pattern of student politics is in effect in our public university system]. Time will tell if the present situation will continue or we will return the country and the national student community to its golden heights during the war of independence which also found international majesty during "language war of 1952".

If the country is to be permanently rid of the vulgar medieval-practice of 'might is right' as practiced since post independence to the recent past by student politicians and their adult partisan sponsors, the entire country must agree on acceptable answers to two fundamental questions — what constitutes acceptable 'student politics' and what purposes must it serve?

The informed citizenry can reflect on the tradition of protest and participation in political and civic affairs that go back to the colonial era which was also part of the glorious past of our larger community. Either in the form of peaceful protest and/or sporadic armed struggle, students were part of the vanguard in the struggle for freedom and the protection of our rights. The tradition continued during the Pakistan era when colonial-hangover-ridden Pakistani rulers declared in 1952 that Urdu would be the only state language in both wings of Pakistan. We know the history of student participation to preserve the integrity of Bengali as our language and the spill over which led to the creation of our independent Republic. The tradition of protesting evil-doers extended to overthrowing the military dictators. In every one of these struggles the student movement played a critical role in the realisation of national objectives.

The golden era of 'student politics' came to an end in 1990. The election of 1990 that was supposed to confirm our democratic ideals instead became a vehicle for guile and divisions that overturned everyone of the communal dreams that our collectivity had for our new democracy. Student leaders, especially those of the two major political parties, shifted their focus on personal gains. The leadership of the universities, as part of their strategy to accommodate the politicians, was more than willing to cater to the student-apostles of the politicians. The so-called 'student leaders' do not, on their own, turn a constitutionally established secular university into a confessional institution. The senior leadership of the universities became masters at playing the game of "see no evil, hear no evil" to the detriment of the institution and the aspirations of the entire university.

We must be clear about the historic meanings of the concept of "student politics." There are two separate and distinct types of student politics that are derived from two separate social domains. Firstly, political parties organise, promote and sponsor organisations from selected universities. Sometimes the students, without any prodding from a political party, initiate their party organisation and then seek party approval and legitimisation from the formal party. A prime function of student political alliance is to serve as the source for future parliamentarians, paid party operatives and the always needed political volunteers. These young people will serve that party in the best sense of partisan politics, from house to house canvassing for support of a party candidate at elections to preparing to be a candidate at some time in future. Many reputable universities in America have their own student Republican Party and Democratic Party student organisation, each serving the partisan interests of the 'parent' party. Similar student organisations exist in Canada, UK, Australia, India, etc. The list of noted politicians worldwide who began as political acolytes include Bill Clinton (US) Tony Blair (UK) and the legendary South African, Nelson Mandela. At the very least, involvement in disciplined partisan politics at the university level is a training ground for responsible citizenship. Other than meeting limited requirements related to basic ethics and respect for the university as an organisation, and other than its obligations to each student, the university does not have any interest, involvement, or alliance, formal or informal, with such student groups. Thus, student political parties do not interfere in the day-to-day student life of its members and is not expected to interfere in the operations of the university.

The second example of student politics involves organisations that serve the social and intellectual lives of the student community of each university. There are clubs of various types each with their own focus, including national or ethnic focus (Oxford Debating Club, U of Chicago Drama Club, U of Toronto Artic Exploration Club, etc). At the pinnacle of these clubs in each university is the umbrella organisation: Oxford Union, U of Toronto Student Union, etc. In most universities membership in the umbrella unit is automatic for all fulltime students. The university fees that are paid for, or by the student, usually include an amount that is designated for the student umbrella organisation. It is the responsibility of the umbrella organisation, subject to guidelines established by the university in its role as fiduciary guardian, to allocate funds to the various student groups to finance group activities. This level of student organisations also has its political component: everything that is social is also 'political;' that is, inter-group relations, direct or indirect. However unconsciously, the social experiences of a student constitute an important part of the learning experience. And, if you accept the socialisation theory of the Brazilian philosopher Freire, the student as learner also digests a self-teaching experience.

The history of most, if not every, university includes examples of the above concepts of contemporary 'student politics.' To anyone who would argue that none of these examples are relevant to Bangladesh, I would caution: it is not without reason that the early thinkers named the pursuit of higher education as originating from a "university." Teaching and learning were always destined to be the most universal human pursuit, more so than politics or faith. Bangladesh is too young as a nation to think that it can set aside history. There is virtue in showing respect to history. So how does 'student politics' in Bangladesh compare to the traditional types of student politics? The evidence suggests that the students at our public universities have interpreted student politics as the politicisation of every aspect of university life — personalised partisan politics for personal gain. And this has been carried out with the tacit (sometimes explicit) collaboration of the professors and senior administration.

Unless the government, the political parties, the general public, and mainly the current university communities of students, professors and administrator act with haste and seriousness, the country's system of higher learning will crumble into the ground. The graduates of these universities must join the task of rebuilding the institutions; the Universities Grant Commission must acknowledge its uselessness and re-evaluate its role so as to be relevant; the political directorate must stand back and take a critical gaze on what has, and is, happening; the professoriate, usually the conscience of the university, must re-examine its collective behaviour; and the media must, with due diligence, expose every aspect of the institutions that fail to meet generally acceptable standards of conduct. We need to act fast to save our universities.

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Hasan Reza holds a faculty position at Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet and is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in The University of Chicago, USA.