The students of the College of Art (CoA) continue to demand the cessation of COA's merger with Ambedkar University Delhi, which is run by the Government of Delhi. The students even accused CoA authorities of "betrayal".
As stated in a report by PTI, students alleged that the file for de-affiliation of CoA from Delhi University (DU) and the merger with Ambedkar University Delhi has been "speeded up" by the authorities of CoA.
The students' community of CoA came out with a manifesto that stated their demands. "We the students of COA demand a serious inquiry on the degrees and marksheets of certain professors. We demand to expunge the idea of de-affiliation of COA from DU and cessation of the process of the merger of COA with AUD immediately and permanently for the imminent present and infinite future," the manifesto read, as quoted in a report by PTI.
It also mentioned that if the merger is compelling, they would like it to be with DU. They also requested that the detained admission process of 2021-22 should commence immediately.
Even Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) made known its protest against the merger. They said that CoA was de-affiliated from DU and "merged without consulting stakeholders and without due processes".
There was no immediate response from the management of COA.
On Saturday, February 19, a group of students protested near the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the same.
The decision for the merger was taken last year. It was the Office of the Lieutenant Governor that passed on the information to DU that, in principle, the merger has been approved and that it is subject to de-affiliation from the university. DU is yet to approve the de-affiliation.
