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TOI : PUNE: In the backdrop of recent attacks on city colleges, prominent education barons came together on Thursday asking the government to enact a law banning attacks on educational institutes, on the lines of a similar move in Andhra Pradesh that banned attacks on hospitals.

Recently, several colleges were allegedly attacked by supporters of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanding priority to Marathi students in admissions.

“We will urge the government to introduce such an enactment,” said Vishwanath Karad, founder head of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), which was the first to bear the brunt of the onslaught on July 12.
He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh has enacted a law that bans attacks on public institutions like hospitals.

“A similar provision ought to be examined for academic institutions in the state in view of what has happened over the last few days,” Karad emphasised.

At a joint press conference addressed by the heads of various institutions, principal director of Symbiosis International University (SIU) Vidya Yerawadekar said that the institute’s representatives would meet state minister for higher and technical education Dilip Walse-Patil on July 19 to discuss the issue. “We will also move the human resources development minister Arjun Singh, next week,” she said.

Apart from MIT, the Indira Institute of Management at Tathawade; G.H. Raisoni Institute at Wagholi and the Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Dental College were attacked between July 12 and 15.

After maintaining a guided silence and mulling over a common strategy to counter the MNS campaign, the heads of these and other institutions, like the SIU and the D.Y. Patil Deemed University re-grouped and gave a collective response.

A peace march by teaching, non-teaching staff and students from all these institutions has been planned on July 18 from Rani Laxmibai square on J.M. road to the Shaniwarwada at 8.30 am to protest…More