By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 2: Peeved with the state government and the delay of over a year in releasing the scholarship, the North-Eastern Hill University Students’ Union (NEHUSU) and Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) are rallying the students to raise their voice in protest near the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) office here on Wednesday.
Pointing out that it has been over a year since they received their scholarship, NEHUSU general secretary Banpynbiang Riang, in a statement, said, “The Money which is meant for our fee, food, rent and healthcare is being criminally denied to us. This is a brutal assault on our autonomy and livelihood. We have to depend on our families for the financial assistance, which is further putting immense burden on many of our families who are already struggling to survive under marginalized conditions”.
The “extraordinary delay” in scholarships has increased the risk of drop-outs as education is becoming unaffordable to many, he said. “Our dreams, our aspirations and our pursuit for a better life; everything is in grave danger,” he added.
Stating that the delay violates the right to education, he stated, “In this era, where education is being mercilessly privatised and commodified for the profits of the few, making it an extremely expensive pursuit, hence exclusionary to majority of us who come from the margins; we see this delay as an abominable attempt to defund education”.
Asking the youth to join the protest, he stated “when injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty”.