Students of the University of Hyderabad are unhappy with the chief warden's work, leading to protests and ongoing negotiations.
Yesterday, July 18, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) Students Union staged a protest in front of the Chief Warden Dr Suvashisa Rana's office demanding the resolution of multiple issues including hostel accommodations, basic infrastructures, and cancellation of fines.
According to the students, the outcome of the demonstration, although it did not result in a concrete solution, led to reassurance and negotiation, which will lead to further discussions.
The Students' Federation of India (SFI), through its Facebook page, shared a few updates from the protest. According to that statement, the chief warden agreed to form a committee to discuss the issue of the 2018 batch PhD students' hostel accommodation.
To recall, the administration had earlier released a circular asking the PhD students who joined in 2018 to vacate the hostels. Further, the postgraduate students seeking readmission into different courses were asked to vacate the hostel, failing which, they were to face legal or police action.
The Student Union will submit the number of students affected, following which, the issue will be discussed in a meeting with UoH Vice-Chancellor Prof BJ Rao and the chief warden on July 21.
Further, the Chief Warden’s office has assured that all pending infrastructure issues will be resolved quickly, including the demand for additional hostels to accommodate more students.
To ensure the quality of food, it has been decided that the hostel wardens should eat in the hostel mess. Additionally, the hostel election has been scheduled to take place in the second week of August, as per the students' demands.
The students successfully persuaded the office to reduce or waive off the fine imposed on students who stayed back during summer vacation for internships or the University Grant Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam.
The students are still complaining about the Dr Suvashisha Rana's competence in addressing issues. Previously, they demanded his resignation as he allegedly had issued show cause notices and imposed fines arbitrarily. The students claimed that he does not consider their issues and resorts to making legal or police threats.
“We will continue with our struggle because we are not satisfied with how he (chief warden) has been addressing the issues,” said Kripa Maria George, Secretary of SFI.
"The 2018 batch PhD scholars and re-admitted PG students will not be thrown out of hostels if they are staying with friends. To make them the bonafide borders of the hostel, we’re continuing our struggle. That is why the meeting has been called. If no conclusion comes out of our negotiation with the administration, we’ll call for further protest,” she added.
