‘Recruitment backlog since 2018’: AISA raises jobs, education issues in Gorakhpur

All India Students' Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora on Monday criticised the alleged privatisation of education and raised concerns over unemployment, recruitment delays and students' rights at a student gathering in Gorakhpur.

Addressing the organisation's ‘Gen-Z Mahajutan Yatra’ under its nationwide ‘Gen Z Rising’ campaign, Bora accused governments of failing to address issues related to education, employment and examinations.

She said student and youth movements across the country reflected growing dissatisfaction with the education and employment systems and called for greater accountability from university administrations as well as state and central governments.

Bora highlighted issues faced by students in Uttar Pradesh, including scholarships, inadequate hostel facilities, a shortage of women's hostels and budget cuts affecting infrastructure at public universities.

She also raised the demands of competitive examination aspirants and alleged delays in teacher recruitment in the state.

“Recruitment has not taken place in Uttar Pradesh for a long time. The backlog has remained since 2018,” she said, demanding notification of at least 60,000 posts and clearance of the recruitment backlog.

Bora also expressed solidarity with TGT and PGT aspirants and candidates seeking examinations under earlier rules and patterns.

She criticised alleged bulldozer actions in Uttar Pradesh, saying families whose homes and livelihoods had been affected deserved support. She alleged that Muslims and Dalits had been disproportionately affected by such drives.

Bora further claimed that incidents of mob violence, killings and sexual assault had contributed to an atmosphere of fear, and accused some groups of taking the law into their own hands.

“If student movements can challenge those in power, the people of Gorakhpur can also remove the stigma of being labelled a ‘bulldozer city’,” she said.

The yatra began in Prayagraj and passed through Varanasi and Azamgarh before reaching Gorakhpur. Its next stops will be Ayodhya and Lucknow, according to Bora.

The Uttar Pradesh unit of AISA announced the ‘Gen-Z Mahajutan Yatra’ in August as part of the nationwide ‘Gen Z Rising’ campaign, focusing on education, employment and social justice.

During the yatra, Bora had demanded in Varanasi on Saturday that the state government clear the recruitment backlog pending since 2018 and notify at least 60,000 posts.

In Azamgarh on Sunday, she accused the government of “selling education” through the National Education Policy 2020 and called for improved infrastructure and more teachers in government schools.

The campaign comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, scheduled to be held early next year.