On October 4, the Chief Proctor of the University of Hyderabad (UoH), also known as Hyderabad Central University, Prof Sanjay Subodh allegedly issued showcase notices to student representatives for protesting and highlighting their concerns. On September 25, the students organised a protest at the admin block of the campus and this protest saw the participation of 150 students.
As per the Duty Security Officer's Incident Report dated September 26, 2023, these seven students actively participated in the protest:
1) Gaikwad Prajwal Chandrakant
2) Kripa George
3) R Venu
4) G Mohith
5) Shabari G Rajan
6) Kathi Ganesh
7) M Pruthvi Sai
"The protestors are hampered the smooth function of Administrative and also violated the norms of UOH and not protested in designated place," the report, which EdexLive has access to, read.
As per the proctor's orders, these students are advised to submit a written statement on or before October 9, 2023, Monday, failing which, "it is deemed that you have no plausible clarification to offer and the matter will be decided in your absence on merits," it added.
Students demand
The protest was staged demanding the purchase of buses for the ease of students, better hostel facilities, sorting out canteen and eateries issues and others. As per the students union, the demands were:
1) Purchase enough number of buses to accommodate students
2) Construct new hostels and gender-neutral hostels, improve the quality of hostel and mess quality
3) Upgrade the power supply in the university to avoid frequent power cuts
4) Open night canteens immediately and eateries at new Physics, SN Schools & F Hostel
5) Repair and open the DST Auditorium immediately
6) Immediate repairs of roads near GOPS, Humanities, SSB, MH-H and other places
7) Solve hostel and mess infrastructural issues
8) Rectify the CNF issue and ensure proper internet facility in the campus
9) Resolve the convocation issue immediately
10) Introduce Foreign Language Courses immediately
Following the protest, the students were allegedly called for a meeting with the Dean Students' Welfare (DSW), Chief Warden, Deputy DSW and concerned officers. "Although the protest was a historic one which was followed by all stakeholder meetings, we all were served with showcase notices," alleged the President of the student union, Prajwal Gaikwad.
Giving more details about the meeting, the PhD scholar, in a conversation with EdexLive, claimed, "The meeting happened from 2 pm to 7 pm on the protest day (September 25). And it was very productive with positive outcomes. In fact, they have initiated the process to buy buses and the file of infrastructure repair is moving forward," he alleged.
Students representatives react
"When the student union is protesting for the living standards of the university, the varsity is sending us show-causes notices," claimed the president of the union.
Adding more, the Secretary of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) HCU unit G Mohith, in a conversation with EdexLive, claimed, "Whenever administration doesn't act on students' issues, students protest and question it, this is very much normal in any varsity. But the administration is scared of students when we question them and that's the reason they are issuing continuous show-cause notices to student union representatives and leaders of other organisations."
"But this kind of show-cause notice won't stop our fighting spirit," says Mohith, who claims that he was served another show-cause notice allegedly on the same day (October 4) for fighting for transparency in the administration process.
Explaining this further, he said, "During PG counselling, the admin was not confirming students' seats until their transfer certificate (TC) was submitted. However, as per the prospectus, students can submit their TC by October 31."
"For questioning this, the administration served me with another show-cause notice," he alleged.
Is financial crunch the final reason?
The president of the student union states that the union has been deliberating and sending representations to the stakeholders for the past four months. But since there has been no action, they had to resort to protest, he claims. When asked what was the response from the stakeholders, Prajwal claimed, "The stakeholders always cited financial crunch as the main reason."
"Ideally, the Institute of Eminence has said that the fund will be utilised for making UoH globally eminent. In contrast, the condition of the hostels, infrastructure and academic situation is bad," he claimed. Adding more, he disclosed that the university has stopped foreign language courses, preparation for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) classes and fellowship is on the verge of shutting down, he alleged.
Thought for change
However, as per the posters shared by the Student Union 2022-23 on social media today, October 7, the university has now begun working on the demands of the students. The union members along with the Engineering Department and CPWD (Central Public Works Department) have visited various sites to check the feasibility of constructing new hostels.
Additionally, the work on potholes has started near the School of Social Sciences, it added, assuring that the potholes in other places will also be fixed soon.
