As many as 40 engineering students of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH) and Osmania University (OU) were detained by the Panjagutta police as they staged a protest at Gunfoundry on September 25 demanding the removal of the detention policy.

Sharan Raichur, state president of Telangana Engineering Students Joint Action Committee (JAC) said that even though AICTE norms state students need to secure 50 per cent marks in all subjects for promotion, the universities have tweaked the norms which are resulting in year loss of students. "In the last couple of years 20,000 students have been detained in these two universities," he said.

The students have also alleged that state universities are doing this at the behest of the state government which does not want to reimburse the fee of students. "It wants to keep the expenditure on reimbursements to low as possible, hence it is promoting detention system," added Sharan Raichur.

In OU affiliated engineering colleges, first-year students need to have 50 per cent credits to be promoted to second year and 50 per cent cumulative credits in remaining years. In JNTU-affiliated colleges, students are required to secure 28, 68 and 100 credits respectively in first, second and third years respectively for promotion.

The students also demanded conduct of advanced supplementary exams and maintaining the requisite quality and quantity of teachers in the varsities.