Following protests, SAU forms committee on scholarships, stipends

The varsity had issued expulsion orders to two students on November 25 in connection with the protests raging on campus
Students of SAU have been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 4 | Pic: Sourced
Students of SAU have been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 4 | Pic: Sourced

South Asian University, New Delhi, has issued a statement on the expulsion of two students amidst the ongoing protests on campus. The varsity said a committee has been formed to look into scholarships and stipend policies, which have been at the heart of the students' agitation. "The administration has constituted and announced a scholarship and resource generation (SRG) committee which includes faculty members, administration staff and two external experts as the members to look into the matter and provide recommendations that will be placed before the Governing Board for approval when its meeting will take place in future," said the varsity in a statement.

Students of the University have been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 4. They are demanding a hike in the Master's scholarship, and an increase in the PhD stipend as per the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) norms. They have also been demanding active representation in the Internal Complaints Committee. 

On November 4, the varsity issued expulsion orders to two students rusticated two more and suspended a student from Bangladesh. On November 22, one of the rusticated students, Ammar Ahmed, suffered a seizure and was admitted to a hospital, where he was shifted to the ICU after a heart attack. Students told Edexlive that Ammar's health condition was a result of "stress" following repeated rejections of his requests to the administration to revoke his rustication. 

Following his collapse, the varsity mitigated the punishments meted out to the students. In a statement to Edexlive, the varsity said, "After the punished students wrote letters of regret to the Administration, the order of suspension of one student was reduced to only a fine of Rs. 500, rustication for two semesters were reduced to suspension till November 11, 2022, and the expulsion orders were reduced to a rustication till November 22, 2022."

Among these students were two PhD scholars, Bhimraj M, who had been rusticated, and Umesh Joshi, who had been expelled. On November 23, these students, along with 100 others visited the Acting Registrar's office, demanding that Ammar's punishment be revoked completely. These students reportedly refused to leave the Registrar's office until their demand was met. It was then that the local police from the Chankyapuri Police Station were called in to disperse the students. This, the students claim, is against the by-laws of the SAU. 

On November 25, Bhimraj and Joshi received fresh letters of expulsion from the varsity, and five other students received show-cause notices for their visit to the Registrar's office. SAU's statement to Edexlive echoed the reasons for expulsion stated in the notices sent to Joshi and Bhimraj. "After the withdrawal of the official orders of suspension, rustication and expulsion, on 23.11.2022, two students forcibly barged into the office of the Acting Registrar with a group of students, when the said registrar was meeting with other officials of the university in his office and made it dysfunctional/paralysed. Later they made the Acting Registrar captive for several hours and did not allow him to leave his office for home well after the close of business of the day and not before the availability of assistance from the Host country," said the statement by the university. 

While the students claim their demands for the hike in the scholarship and the fellowship, and representation in the Internal Complaint Committee remain unfulfilled, the SAU in its statement to Edexlive said that "positive developments have started happening," and that ongoing semester exams for Master's and PhD students are being "conducted smoothly." The university has also shared that it is planning to shift to its permanent campus in Maidan Garhi in New Delhi. "We have recently received the Occupancy Certificate and we are gearing up for the shifting," an official from the varsity said.

"All the genuine concerns of the students were addressed immediately including increasing stipend from Rs. 4000/- to Rs. 5000/-, increasing mess subsidy amount, and giving financial assistance to some more students after their demand within the existing policies and rules/regulations/byelaws of the university," said the university's statement. 

However, students have countered this claim.  "The university offers four types of scholarships. Out of these, the Freeship offers a full tuition fee waiver with a stipend of INR 5000. This year, the administration arbitrarily reduced this amount to Rs 4,000. This is when we demanded that the amount be increased to Rs 7,000. After the protest, the university reverted this amount back to Rs 5,000 and claimed that they had met our demand," a student told EdexLive on the condition of anonymity. A copy of the order dated September 27, reducing the stipend amount for day scholars awarded the Freeship from Rs 5,000 to Rs 4,000 is with EdexLive.

According to students of the varsity, Ammar Ahmed, who is still hospitalised, needs to be shifted to AIIMS, Delhi to be provided with the care he requires. Students also told Edexlive that the student had suffered another seizure this week. However, SAU, in its update on the student's health condition said, "His CT and MRI reports are normal. He is in a conscious state and his vitals are normal. The University Medical Officer is in constant touch with the treating medical team at the Hospital where he is admitted."

On Twitter, in response to a tweet by Bhimraj and Umesh regarding their expulsion, Shashi Tharoor Member of Parliament from the Lok Sabha, said, "Shocked to hear this. Please do write the full details in a letter to the office[at]http://tharoor.in & I will take the matter up with the authorities."

The two students who have been expelled have also been asked to vacate their hostels. The university sent them an email regarding the same on November 27. An additional message was also sent to all students warning against providing shelter to these students on campus.

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