By Our Reporter tribhuvan-university1Elections of the free student unions are taking place in two weeks in Tribhuvan University and Mahendra Sanskrit University. The student organizations affiliated to the political parties have been mustering to win the elections by applying every trick. Due to the Union elections, teaching-learning environment of many campuses have been affected. Moreover, the TU campuses, which used to remain almost deserted at other times, have now drawn the crowds of students, as most students enroll the TU campuses only to contest the union elections.  Anyone who succeeds to become the union president in central campuses will get a place in national politics. Many of the union leaders of the past are now serving as ministers and MPs in the parliament. The student leaders are spending lavishly to influence the elections. They are giving money to those who have not yet admitted in the campuses and throwing parties to friends and so on. It is said that any candidate contesting the presidential post of the unions in the TU campuses need at least Rs 10 billion! Although the student unions are believed to work for the benefit of the students, but in Nepal the student unions give more importance to political slogans of their mother parties.  Their agendas lack programmes relating to improvement in the academic environment and quality of education. As the union leaders give more importance to politics, clashes occur among the students of rival political groups. Although the union elections are still a week away, incidences of clashes among students have already started making news headlines. Sometimes, the clashes culminate into deaths.  Indeed, presence of innumerable unions in a campus has spoiled the academic environment in the TU campuses. Meanwhile, cadres of various six student unions including the All Nepal National Independent Students Union, close to Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN Maoist,set fire to a car belonging to Rector of the Tribhuvan University, Prof Dr Sudha Tripathi on Monday. Two youths made Prof Dr Tripathi get out of her car (Ba 2 Cha 5650) in motion at around 10 this morning and set it on fire near UN Park, Lalitpur. ANNISU (Revolutionary) President Purna Bahadur Singh admitted to the setting Prof Dr Tripathi's car on fire due to her cavalier attitude towards their demands in connection to the upcoming election of the Free Students' Union. Their demands include scrapping the admission of fake students, guaranteeing ANNISU-R's participation in the election process and enabling environment for the election.