The battle is about the right of this large majority of potential students to study in public universities.
The struggle for saving public education -- resisting fee hikes, resisting such exclusionary systems of admissions -- has to be fought and has to be won.
Lack of computer literacy is particularly widespread among students (and recent students) coming from marginalised groups: 76 per cent among dalits, 76 per cent among muslims, and 79 per cent among adivasis. While 62 per cent men in the group did not have computer literacy, the proportion was 72 per cent for women.
As per the NSS 75th round data for 2017, among persons aged 17 years or above who are either currently enrolled in an educational institution or were enrolled until the last year, 67 per cent (77 per cent among rural and 46 per cent among urban) did not know how to operate a computer. Of these young people, 59 per cent (69 per cent among rural and 38 per cent among urban) did not know how to use internet.
Earlier this year, JNU students and teachers fought the administration against shifting exclusively to computer-based multiple choice type question format for entrance to all programmes.
Not only did our pleas to JNU administration fell on deaf ears, our plea was not heard even in court before admissions happened last year. But the battle has not ended and we must raise our voices again before admissions start for the next year.
What is the battle about?
Sakiv Warla