BENGALURU: Students of government degree colleges across Karnataka boycotted classes on Saturday, protesting against irregular running of classes due to non-appointment of guest lecturers. While government colleges have technically begun classes, most run irregularly, with barely one lecture a day. Second- and third-year students are the most affected as the shortage of teaching staff disrupts their academic progress.

Currently, 21,000 lecturer posts are vacant, and permanent faculty members constitute only 35 per cent of the total requirement. “Government degree colleges have begun, but without guest lecturers, classes are not running regularly,” said Apoorva, district president of AIDSO Bengaluru.

“Today, almost all students across the state did not attend classes. This was a successful one-day boycott, and we are waiting for the government’s response. If ignored, our next step could be a state-level protest at Freedom Park or Vidhana Soudha.” “ Our demand is simple, regular classes for at least 30 working days must be conducted before announcing exams. Universities like Kuvempu and Mysore have already issued exam timetables and sought exam fees, which is unfair to students.