Yuva Sena & BUCTU Senate Members Protest At Mumbai University Over National Education Policy And Administrative Decisions

Mumbai: Tensions flared at the University of Mumbai (MU) on Tuesday morning after members of the Yuva Sena and Bombay University and College Teachers' Union (BUCTU) — including both sitting and former Senate members — staged a protest outside the Fort Campus main gate.

Protesting teachers and Senate members expressed their concerns over the university's implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and recent administrative decisions which they alleged were mismanagement and lacked consultation over key changes at the university.

In a joint statement, the protesters highlighted the “haphazard introduction of interdisciplinary and co-curricular courses without adequate preparation” under NEP 2020. The statement warned that these changes were undermining the weightage of core subjects in major disciplines. “The university has ignored the concerns of the teaching community that the dilution of specialisation will negatively impact students’ employability,” the protesters said.

They also pointed out that several colleges were making arbitrary decisions to offer existing core subjects, such as Mathematics, Environmental Studies (EVS), and Business Economics, under optional categories, a move they believed would further weaken the quality of education.

The protesters also expressed frustration over what they described as discrepancies in university governance, with particular emphasis on three key issues that they believed had been neglected by the administration. These issues include the controversial directive regarding the establishment of a Student Security Force, the dismissal of Senate objections about an email circulated just before a Management Council meeting, and the sudden formation of a fact-finding committee concerning policies affecting aided colleges and state service cadres.

The demonstration was cut short when police, allegedly in coordination with the university administration, detained the protesters and transported them to Azad Maidan Police Station. The protesters alleged that the police action was a direct response to their attempt to hold the administration accountable, which they felt was a violation of their right to peacefully protest.

“This is a clear case of double standards,” said the joint statement issued by the protesters. “Just two months ago, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest at Kalina Campus without any police interference. But today, despite the presence of elected Senate members, the university resorted to police action against us.”

The protest was “a direct response” to what the protesters saw as “a lack of transparency and dialogue from the university’s administration on crucial matters that directly impact students and faculty”. At the subsequent University Management Council meeting, Yuva Sena representatives Sheetal Sheth Devrukhkar and Milind Satam, along with BUCTU’s Dr Jagannath Khemnar, formally condemned the police action and held the university administration accountable.

During the meeting, dissent notes were submitted by Devrukhkar, Satam, and Khemnar. They expressed disappointment over the refusal to acknowledge specific agenda items, particularly concerning the April 20, 2024 directive regarding the Student Security Force, and other administrative actions they felt had been overlooked.