Why TISS-Hyd students refuse to withdraw their court petition against institute

Five days after TISS, Hyderabad reopened students are still awaiting a meeting with the administration. A student representative said that 26 students have been given some sort of aid but there were many students who are still suffering without any accommodation. 

"The faculty and the administration are acting like nothing happened. The classes are running smoothly and the classes have been extended to three hours in order to cope with lost time, that's the only difference," a student said. The students had emailed the management requesting for a meeting to discuss the next steps and the issues at hand, but they have not received a response yet.

However, 26 students are receiving some sort of student aid, even though there is allegedly no mechanism, written proposal in place, "They have initiated some sort of funds but we don't know any details. There is nothing formal. The institute seems to have paid something to the service provider but the students don't really know what the arrangements are like," a student said. 

"We are not able to find any data on who is availing the benefits and how many students are eligible to apply for whatever aid they are providing," they added. When asked how the 26 students had been picked, a student said that it was based on the number of students who attended a meeting that the administration had called for during the protests.

"They called for the meeting during the protests and so many students would not have gotten a chance to attend it, maybe because they weren't there or some other reason. It is unfair that they picked only those students. How can attendance in a meeting be grounds to determine whether they are eligible or not?" he questioned. 

The students still have their case in court, they had a court hearing on Monday which didn't take place as the judge was unavailable. While some students are still protesting even if not on the corridors, there are students who are fearing to take a stand anymore. "The fact that the institution just shut down has made students scared. Since they are concerned about their academics, they don't want to risk losing it or delaying their work because of the protest," he said. 

Otherwise, the faculty is acting like nothing really happened, the students said. "Some faculty have of course taken the protests personally and are giving us cold shoulders, while others have just continued as usual," he added. 

But the problem is not close to solved for many students, "Even two days ago, four students came asking for help. They wanted to find a way to be included in the list with the other 26 students because they have no other way to afford hostel accommodation," they explained. The students said there is no question of withdrawing their case from the court and they are awaiting a court date.