By IANS,
Lucknow : Elections to student’s unions in Uttar Pradesh universities and degree colleges will be held after a gap of seven years.
An order issued by the Higher Education secretary Avanish Awasthi late Wednesday overturned the ban imposed by the previous Mayawati government on the ground that the polls led to violence and hooliganism on campuses.
“The decision to hold student’s union elections in all degree colleges and universities of the state will be implemented in letter and spirit as per the directions of the chief minister,” Awasthi told IANS.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, at his first meeting with officials had signalled his willingness to restore student politics in Uttar Pradesh.
The elections would be held from the new session beginning July and would be conducted on lines of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations.
Among the recommendations are that aspirants should be aged between 17 and 28, depending on whether they are under-graduates, post-graduates or research scholars.
The committee had also recommended that contestants should not have a criminal record, should have 75 percent attendance and should spend less than Rs.5,000 on campaigning.
This had led to widespread outrage amongst student leaders who had resorted to violence, following which some 250 students were expelled from Lucknow university alone. The Mayawati government thereafter scrapped student’s union polls in the state.