After the students protested against the University of Hyderabad's decision to evict them from hostels, the administration has permitted stranded students to remain on campus. However, the administration has asked all students residing in Telangana to vacate by Tuesday afternoon. The students are enraged by the new rule calling it 'discriminatory'.
In the notice, the administration has said - "Students whose permanent address is within Telangana state will be required to vacate the hostel by the afternoon of March 24, 2020. They shall not be allowed to sign the undertaking. They may contact the Dean, Students’ Welfare in case of need." The undertaking is being handed over to students who wish to stay on campus and have not been able to go home. The UOH Students' Union and several Telangana students pleaded with the administration to reconsider the decision as many of them could not find a way to go home.
"After we spoke to them, the administration said that they would arrange buses for the students to travel home. Yes, one main reason is that because of the lockdown, many buses got cancelled and there was overcrowding which would put the students more at a risk of catching the virus. But it is unfair that only the Telangana students are being asked to leave and the other students are being allowed to stay back," a member of the Union said. Students are saying that the cases in Telangana are increasing and stricter rules are being implemented which is scaring them and that they feel safer on campus.
"We are hearing stories of cases increasing in different districts and the students' families are also asking the students to stay back on campus. Also, many students come from homes where they have just one room and four-five members stay together. Here on campus, they would have a room to themselves, this way they keep themselves safe but if they happen to carry the virus and go home, they could risk giving it to everyone else in the family," the student said. On campus, the students are saying that they would be the only ones on an entire floor and would therefore not cause any problems or increase the risk of passing or catching COVID-19.
The students are also wary of going home because they have heard about the strict rules imposed in the districts and are scared of any police brutality that they may face. "We see videos of the police beating people for violating rules and we don't want to run into any sort of trouble," the students added.
For those students who are allowed to stay back on campus, the administration has said that in light of the Epidemics Diseases Act, 1897 being invoked by the state government, the students have been directed to follow various rules. These rules include — not forming groups, taking individual responsibility for their own health by observing self-social distancing, not entertaining any unauthorised person other than their roommate, not going outside campus as long as the district is in lock-down mode and not ordering food from delivery platforms.
Besides this, the students are also required to carry the acknowledgment of the undertaking wherever they go, the use of the campus health centre would be restricted to basic emergency health services, they have to alert CMO of any emergency situation related to COVID-19, hostel rooms have to be made accessible for inspection and the students have to assist the university or state authorities in prevention and control efforts. "Any group formation on the campus will be viewed very seriously and reported to state administration or police as it in violation of centres and state governments' directives," the administration has said.
