BCL’s reported establishment of committees within private universities is a development that augers ill for us all.
Student politics has wreaked havoc at public universities across the country, and it was precisely for this reason that they have been kept out of private universities, with by and large positive results.
The vast majority of students do not wish to see their educational experience marred by the kind of violence, pressurizing of authorities, and abuse of position that has come to typify student politics, and keeping private campuses politics-free has had a salutary impact on the education they have been able to impart to their students.
Thus, the introduction of partisan student politics into private universities is a cause for concern.
Private universities were created to be politics-free institutions, which is one of the reasons why so many students opt for them over their public counterparts -- institutions which are rife with partisan politics and violence, to the detriment of almost all concerned.
For the ruling party’s student wing to step in and undermine a key part of what makes private universities attractive destinations does a disservice to a large section of students throughout the country, many of whom have spent a good amount of money to escape the politics and violence endemic within our public universities.
We understand that private universities are not without their own problems. The fact that a banned outfit such as the Hizb ut-Tahrir was able to infiltrate at least one reputed private university speaks to that. But sending the BCL in to combat extremism is not a good solution.
What we need is less politics, not more.
Combating radicalization posed by extremist groups in universities requires the involvement of the authorities, not the student wings of our political parties. We need to clamp down harder on potential anti-social activities on campus, not give scope for their increase, which would be the invariable result of allowing political parties to form student wings there.
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that once student politics enters the private campuses, that all elements of the educational process, from admission to recruitment, won't be compromised. This will pave the way for local leaders and their cadres to try to exert influence as well. We have seen it all before.
It also stands to reason that if BCL is allowed to form committees within our private universities then the student wings of other political parties will have to be permitted to do so, as well. It will set off a downward spiral that will only harm and marginalize the common students.
We need to keep our private universities free of politics. Let students be students.