The students from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have put forth a slew of demands to be addressed by the college administration. As informed by Kiran Kumar, National President of AIOBSCA (All India Other Backward Classes Students Association), the students have listed long-standing issues at the university, that the students want resolved.
The demands have been placed by the Youth for Inclusive and Sustainable Society (YISS), UoH. According to Kiran, they have already intimated the administration about their problems, but action is yet to be taken. "In the absence of prompt response, we are planning a protest regarding these issues on Monday (November 21)," he said.
What are the issues?
The AIOBSCA leader classified the issues into three categories: generic, related to marginalised students and a few specific cases. The generic problems which concern the students are the strict maintenance of attendance by the varsity and the poor quality of hostel food.
"As per the NEP (National Education Policy), students have a choice of opting for dual degree programmes as well as online courses. The students who have opted for online courses are also being asked to maintain 75 per cent attendance, which is not possible and which is creating a problem for students. Though the college has implemented NEP, attendance does not have a major role in the learning environment as per NEP," Kiran said, adding that they wanted the attendance criteria to be removed.
They also demand that the mess workers be trained so as to provide good food to the students. "The food quality at present is not apt. We also want a mess monitoring committee to be constituted and the chief hostel warden must address all the problems promptly," Kiran said.
Issues of marginalised students
The students coming from marginalised backgrounds want their scholarship amount to be increased from the current Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. "Earlier Rs 1,000 was sufficient. Students could save some money after covering the mess charges, but with increasing expenses, this is not possible. The mess charges are barely covered," Kiran said. "We also want the PhD notification to be released soon so that students can opt for the scholarships," he added.
The specific issues
Kiran stated that he is displeased with the manner of governance at UoH. "It is similar to the bureaucratisation of the academic institution. Students are being selectively targetted," he said. YISS has demanded that the problems of two PhD scholars, who the students allege have been targetted, be immediately addressed.
"These are all long-standing issues at UoH. We want sustainable solutions," Kiran concluded.
