The Telangana government’s proposal to take over the 11 acres land of the Osmania University for the purpose of building housing for the weaker section has provoked a political controversy, making university to turn into agitation hub.
Established in 1918, the Osmania University is spread over a sprawling area of nearly 1,600 acres. The opposition parties and the OUJAC students came out strongly against the govt proposal. None is opposed to the idea of providing poor with permanent housing facility. But, the contention is university lands.
Instead of retrieving the already lost lands to the university, the government’s decision to deprive it from its basic infrastructure is obviously culpable. Decades of official callousness resulted in land grabbers with political influence grabbing university lands and letting them enjoy even today.
“KCR had been telling that thousands of acres of land had been taken away by Andhra industrialists and others illegally. Why not take them back and construct houses for the poor in those lands?’’ Kailash a student questioned.
The Supreme Court of India observed: “A University having no infrastructure or teaching facility of any kind would still be in a position to confer degrees and thereby create a complete chaos in the matter of co-ordination and maintenance of standards in higher studies which would be highly detrimental for the whole nation.” Should we allow our varsities to be deprived of basic infrastructure like land to do such disservice to the nation?
The court further observed in this judgment: “What is necessary is actual establishment of institutions having all the infrastructural facilities and qualified teachers to teach there. Only such colleges or institutions which impart quality education appeal the best students. Until such institutions are established which provide high level of teaching and other facilities like well-equipped libraries and laboratories and a good academic atmosphere, good students would not be attracted.”
Therefore, the objection is that the lands of universities should not be used for other purposes. Quite unfortunately, the question is wrongly posed as if the choice is between the needs of universities and the housing requirements of the poor.
In fact, these public-owned universities primarily cater to the needs of the poor students. Commercialization of higher education is already taking away higher education from the ambit of the poor and low income groups.
Depriving these universities of basic infrastructure like land will make them much more incapacitated to serve the growing needs of the marginalized.
Several judgments upheld that universities might be solely or partially funded by the government, but, they cannot be construed as government authority. The government cannot alienate university land without the consent of the university administration.
On December 12, 1984 , the syndicate of the Osmania University, stressed that no land on the campus should be alienated for any purpose and no land in the campus should be alienated to any institution not connected with higher education, research and training.