After LSR student's suicide, students demand digital divide be bridged
New delhi: As Delhi University's Lady Sri Ram College for Women witnessing turmoil after a 19-year-old second-year student killed herself over financial burden, the college principal has now said they are in talks to provide laptops to students in need. Aishwarya Reddy, the student, could not afford a laptop for her online classes.
LSR Principal Suman Sharma told Millennium Post, "We are trying to do whatever is best and in our limitations. We had a talk with FICCI members and they will be providing laptops to the college students in need. We have also spoken to the GB members about issues like providing students with data cards among other things."
She said this is a very difficult time and she understands the pressure students have been facing due to it. "Digital divide is a reality and we came to know about this digitalisation that came with COVID-19. I am aware of the difficulties faced by the students but we also have limitations," she added, saying that they have also extended the fee submission date for students.
Students Federation of India along with other organisations held a protest on Friday and submitted a memorandum to the representative of VC Gaje Singh (Security Officer, DU). "We demand speedy disbursement of scholarships and a student-friendly environment in the different colleges and campuses," SFI said in a statement. On Thursday, the LSR Students' Union had protested demanding revocation of hostel laws among other things from the university.
Unnimaya, president of LSR students' union said, "We had a meeting with the principal where none of our demands were met. Aishwarya's was an institutional murder and the Central government, DU and LSR administration are to be blamed for it. When the pandemic began there were no guidelines, as to how things will go about in online classes. And from day 1, we have been demanding that there needs to be proper planning, and the needs of students belonging from marginalised backgrounds need to be considered. There is a high digital divide and we need solutions to it. We just can't take online classes. We are not demanding something utopian, in other states things are being done to ease such situations."
The protesters are also demanding the scholarship money that Aishwarya was supposed to get, be given to the family. "Aishwarya's sister had to drop out because they wanted the former to study. Now, with such a tragedy, we just demand that the amount be provided to the family so that her younger sister could study," a protester outside UGC said.
