Status war

With the battle lines being drawn and both universities looking for political allies to give them an edge, the war for power has erupted in the campuses of Rajasthan.

All teacher problems, declining standards and the general ‘education crisis’ has been put on the back burner as the two universities levy charges and counter-charges, cozy up to politicians and make their last bids for the ‘prestigious tag’.

Leading his professors from the front is vice-chancellor Dr K.L. Sharma.‘‘Our claim is as old as that of Allahabad university,’’ Sharma begins. ‘‘It has been around 20 years since we initiated this process. We were hopeful till Jodhpur came up with their claim.’’

Jodhpur VC Dr Naseem Bhatia lashes back. ‘‘Why not? Jaipur caters mainly to children of the city while we give opportunities to a large rural population.’’

Sharma counter attacks. ‘‘We are an older university, we have more faculties.’’

While the war of word continues, this turf battle is slowly turning out to be more than just a ‘squabble between two universities’. Sharma’s optimism stems from the fact that the BJP’s election manifesto clearly states that the Vasundhra Raje government would try to get the Rajasthan University the central status. Prompt to remind the new chief minister of the promise, university officials have also met vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Not to be left behind, the Jodhpur university is banking on Jaswant Singh to tilt the balance in their favour. ‘‘We are trying to get support from local MLAs and a few people have also met Jaswant Singh and are trying to convince him,’’ Bhatia admits.

And while they plot and plan, a reality check on these institutions shows: Rajasthan University has three lakh students in 250 colleges. The sanctioned teaching strength is 1500; they have only 850 teachers.

Jai Narayan Vyas university has nine affiliated colleges and two constituent colleges for about 22000 students. They have a skeletal 180 teaching posts.