From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Aug 17: With around 2000 students from the north-east studying in different colleges in Bangalore city alone, the State Government has directed the managements of private colleges to postpone their internal examinations and even the semester examinations in professional colleges to accommodate the northeastern students.
With the violence in Assam and other north-eastern region leading to an exodus of thousands of migrants in the city to their hometowns fearing violent attacks against them, the State Government has also asked the managements of the private colleges to conduct special classes for the students after their return in order to ensure that their studies were not affected.
Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister, who held a meeting with representatives of managements of private colleges and officials of the Higher Education Department, Higher Education Council, Technical Education and Home Department to review the situation, told reporters after the meeting that the Government was committed to provide security to the students and northeastern people.
The Sikkim Government’s Human Resource Department Secretary C S Rao also attended the meeting with the minister.
The minister said the State Government had also asked the managements of private colleges to take steps to provide accommodation to the students in the hostels as they may be feeling insecure to continue in their rented accommodations in different parts of the city and other districts like Mysore and Mangalore.
The Higher Education Department has decided to set up a helpline to address grievances of the students.
About 2,000 students from the northeastern states are studying in 34 colleges in Bangalore.
The students have been pursuing engineering, management and other professional courses.
College managements have been told to interact with parents of students and to explain them about safety measures taken by colleges to ensure their peaceful living in the City, the minister said.
The Minister said the students may return to their respective colleges within the next 15 days and said educational institutions have been told to conduct counselling for northeast students for building their confidence and focus on studies.
Managements of colleges in other parts of the State too have been told to follow the steps taken by the colleges in Bangalore to ensure safety and continuation of education of Northeast students, he said adding that the State Government would ensure that steps would be taken to inform the students about the measures taken by the State government through the regional television channels in the Northeast.