Unlock AUD but don't make physical attendance mandatory: The curiously confusing demands of the SFI

The SFI is planning to stage a 'peaceful protest' on the Ambedkar University Delhi premises. Its members talk to us about the reason behind the same
Ambedkar University Delhi
Ambedkar University Delhi

Student activists affiliated with the SFI unit of Ambedkar University Delhi will conduct a protest on the university premises on Tuesday. The students are demanding that the administration reopens the university, based on the result of a survey that the organisation had conducted in early 2021. According to its results, 65 per cent of the students want the university to be reopened at the earliest.

According to the survey results that the AUD SFI members had shared with EdexLive, a lot of students have said that they do not have the resources or are not in the right state of mind to attend online lectures. "I don't have enough resources to take online classes. I live around a village area with very poor internet connectivity. I have been paying rent for my room in Delhi and I can't even dispose of it at this point," a student reportedly said.

Aditi Sharma, an MA Psychology student at AUD tells us that even though the university has been partially reopened for the research scholars, the unavailability of a WiFi connection is troubling the students and faculty. "On top of that, no maintenance has been done in the university since the lockdown. The classrooms are filled with fungus, the washrooms are not clean and there is no running water. The hostels are a complete mess too. It is impossible for students to be in the university now," she says, asking the administration to fix the blips and completely reopen the university.

A member of the SFI, she says that a lot of students are yearning to be back in the university and restart their education. "In fact, I am coming now from the home of a student whose father is abusive. She cannot stay there anymore," she says.

At the same time, the report also notes that a major chunk of students also said that they do not want to come back to the university, since the Coronavirus is not yet fully contained in India. For instance, a survey respondent said, "I have a pre-existing health condition. To look for accommodation at such short notice is unimaginable. Being an outstation student, I'll have to look for inventory items that would definitely require me to go out unnecessarily."

Now, keeping this in mind, the SFI has asked the university to not make attendance mandatory, once the university reopens. "The obvious solution then becomes to record classes, so students can join the same class physically, as well as online, in real-time," reads the report.

Along with this, they also seek that the university reopens its canteen, open hostel registrations and provide safety gear to the cleaning staff. The university is yet to comment on this issue. We have sent an email to them seeking a comment. This copy will be updated once they respond.

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