In another display of spectacular failure when it comes to the redressal of matters in our higher education institutes, six students are facing wrongful suspension, driving the students of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala to protest against the arbitrary actions of the administration on Friday, last week (March 15, 2019).
“This protest did not start today. The problems and tension have been building up for a while. There have been several instances in the past, and we have been facing many problems, but the administration refuses to listen to our grievances. It is only now that we are able to bring this all together as its high time. With the way things were going on, this protest was inevitable and had to happen sooner or later,” a third year RGNUL student (left anonymous as per request), referring to all the other key issues that were raised during the protest, told Campus Watch.
Sequence Of Events
The immediate instigator of the protest was the unjust order of suspension which was issued by the administrative officer to six students when they tried to protest against the poor quality of food in the hostel mess.
When inquired about the 6 suspended students, another RGNUL student (on request of anonymity) told Campus Watch, “mosquitoes were found in our food, and despite various complains to the authorities and mess in charge, no actions were taken. Ultimately several students started banging there plates in the meal time…and they were only banging plates and not actually destroying any college property. Next thing we know, the college authorities randomly picked out 6 six students and suspended them.”
According to sources, the college administration formed an internal committee overnight after the incident, and later, on Friday, it issued a suspension order to the students, without giving the students a fair chance to put forth their case. It was also brought to light that a suspension order must be issued and signed by the Vice Chancellor of RGNUL, which did not happen in this case, as the suspension was issued by the administrative officer.
“Suspension has become a common practise in RGNUL,” another student told Campus Watch. “Whenever there is a problem, the administration straight away goes for suspension instead of actually solving the issue.”
Once the suspension order was issued, the students were told to vacate the hostel within an hour, despite the fact the students belonged to other cities and states.
When the students raised their concern about not having a place to go within such a short notice, the administration in complete disregard of the student’s well-being and safety said, “Dhoond lo,” (find it).
Even the parents – who were informed after the students were suspended – requested the authorities to give the students enough time to coordinate with their local guardians. This request was denied, forcing the students to stay at a nearby dhaba as they did not want to go too far with their examinations round the corner.
The entire situation resulted in added stress and psychological pressure on the students, which could possibly have a damaging impact on their academic performance in the coming assessment.
The Administrative Officer Is A Tyrant: Student On Captain SP Singh
Later that night, several students gathered outside the university guest house to protest against the unjust decision, which was soon joined by more, including female students.
The protestors brought forth several demands, out of which the four major ones are:
1. That a probe be initiated into the maladministration by administrative officer SP Singh, and that appropriate orders be passed thereafter to relieve him of his position.
2. That the suspension order against the six students passed by the Administrative Officer on Friday be revoked.
3. That the in-time for female students be revised.
4. That the university allow the constitution of student body representatives/student council.
According to sources, the administrative officer SP Singh, is notorious among the students for making derogatory and sexually coloured remarks, to the extent that some students refer to him as a tyrant and a dictator.
When asked to elaborate a female student said, “he often threatens us with ruining our careers…ones he told a girl that he would make sure she never gets placed.”
Campus Watch was also told that while the students tried to complain about derogatory behaviour, they were always given vague answers about the “ongoing interrogation into the matter,” but no substantial report ever reached the students.
The severe lack of transparency in the working is troubling, and highlights the unprincipled way in which the authorities have been harassing the students and turning a blind eye to their grievances. The displeasure of the students was also expressed in a statement by one of the protestor who said, “the only reason SP Singh is accommodated because he is a sycophant to the VC.”
The VC is rarely ever accessible to the students to address such problems, and when Campus Watch inquired about the aid of a grievance cell, it was informed that there is none to begin with.
“We only have IQAC [Internal Quality Assurance Cell] and that only deals with the academics,” another third year student told Campus Watch.“And there is hardly any student representation there. Only the toppers are selected and they never get a say in the matter.”
Also, it is important to note that IQAC is not an elected body. In fact, quite alarmingly, RGNUL lacks any kind of student representation in the form of a council or union. “When ever we ask for a recognised student council, the administration makes excuses. They say that the Punjab University elections are violent and they want to avoid that,” a student told us.
Sources also inform Campus Watch that such illogical excuses came despite the students’ assurance they will not involve any political party and will prevent violent elections at all costs.
Finally, the students are fed up of the gender discriminatory rules and practices in the university.
The strict hostel timings, the locking in of the girls in their hostels with no emergency mechanism in place, as well as the restricted access to library because of the stringent hostel curfews has been a matter of immense concern among the female students.
Their mobility within the hostel is also very restrictive. Add to this the accusations against SP Singh for making sexist remarks, and you have an extremely unsafe and uncomfortable education environment in place.
Furthermore, the students also complained about the lack of privacy in the college and in their hostels. “The wardens walk in our rooms whenever they want. They check our phones and look through our stuff in the name of checking. There is no right to privacy at all,” said a student.
Administration’s Response To The Protest
The administration’s response to protest and the demands has not been very promising. Despite the rising tension, the administration has not succeeded in giving students anything more than verbal assurances that are hollow and vague.
Furthermore, the students demand to meet with the Chancellor has still not been heeded upon, even though they were assured and promised that the chancellor would address them on Sunday. This has led to the protest extending into its third day of strike on March 17.
“We were only addressed by the judges of Punjab and Haryana high court, but they were not here on any official capacity,” a student clarified. Justice Mahesh Grover had addressed the gathering in the evening, instead of Chancellor Krishna Murari as promised.
Not only that, the administration has also made several attempts to thwart the protest and break student solidarity. The threat of not postponing the upcoming examinations, is one the things the college has resorted to. The college has also sent e-mails to parents and has also asked the alumni to come and help disperse the movement.
But the students have assured Campus Watch that they have been anonymously seeking support from parents and the alumni association is also supporting them formally. There has also been continuous flow of support from the NLU student consortium.
However, the underhanded efforts of the college to coerce the students, is concerning. “Because of the stringent and arbitrary of actions of our administration, our right to protest is only on paper,” a student said.
The students are still on protest and have refused to back down, the continuous insistence on anonymity is a clear evidence of the fear that the children harbour in their minds when it comes to being harassed at the hands of the authorities, which often tends to misuse its power.
According to sources, the students are suggesting to boycott exams and even the alumni are planning to boycott meetings. In the most recent development, as the students enter day 4 of their protest, Rapid Action Forces (RAF) and police personnel have been deployed in the campuses and the outreach of media has been shut to the campus.
These students need for all of us, across campuses in the country, to show solidarity as they struggle to be allowed certain fundamental freedoms within their campuses.
Note: We contacted RGNUL Patiala for a comment on the above realities and have received no response. This post will be updated once we receive a response.