New Delhi: The ongoing agitation demanding student union elections in the capital's prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University took a new turn on Saturday. The teachers and non-teaching staff of the university expressed strong protest against the objectionable slogans written on the walls of the campus, alleged vandalism and increasing tension during the protests. In view of the situation, the university administration has announced to conduct classes of all courses through online medium with immediate effect. The administration has appealed to the students to attend online classes and avoid coming to the campus till further orders.
Vice Chancellor Professor Mazhar Asif, Registrar Professor Mohammad Mehtab Alam Rizvi and more than 1500 teaching and non-teaching staff attended the meeting held in the lawn of Ansari Auditorium of the university on Saturday morning. There was a serious discussion in the meeting regarding restoring normalcy on the campus, ending the movement and maintaining the reputation of the university. Two resolutions were passed unanimously in the meeting.
Teachers take strict stance regarding slogans on walls
The teachers and employees of the university expressed their displeasure over the objectionable slogans written on the walls of the campus and incidents of damage to property. He said such activities could affect the academic dignity and reputation of an institution with a historical legacy of 106 years.
In the first resolution, an appeal was made to the protesting students to end their agitation, vacate the protest site and restore peace and normalcy in the campus. The employees said that the designated place for the protest in the university is Gate No. 18, while objecting to the protesting students staging a sit-in in the lawn near the Ghalib statue.
In the second resolution, it was resolved to erase the slogans written on the walls and repaint the affected walls. The teachers and staff said that the reputation of any institution should not be harmed due to the activities of a few people. He also expressed concern over alleged misinformation being spread on social media.
Attempt to resolve two decade old dispute
The controversy regarding the reinstatement of the student union in the university is not new. The Jamia Millia Islamia Students Union was suspended in 2006 following repeated incidents of violent clashes, attacks on teachers and disruption of classes.
To resolve the current dispute, a high-level committee of seven professors of the university was formed on October 18. The committee was talking to the protesting students for the last several days. Till now four rounds of talks had taken place. The committee had also appealed to the students on Friday night to end the agitation, but no consensus could be reached.
Committee members said that on October 21, the administration had issued a notification to constitute a committee to draft the constitution of the student union. According to teachers, this was an important initiative in this direction related to the student union after the year 2006.
Apart from this, the university had issued another notification on October 21 asking to review the disciplinary action taken or initiated against the students on the basis of reasons related to the agitation from October 12 to 5:30 pm on October 21. Despite this, talks with the agitating students could not progress.
Teacher came to explain, had to return after two hours
After passing the resolution in the meeting on Saturday, teachers and employees marched from the lawn of Ansari Auditorium, crossed the main road from Gate No. 13 and reached Gate No. 7. After this he went to the protest site and appealed to the students to end the agitation and normalize educational activities. According to the details released by the university administration, efforts were made to convince the students for about two hours. It is alleged that during this time, some protesting students raised slogans and asked the teachers to go back and suddenly started pushing the security staff, teachers and other employees.
When the situation did not return to normal despite repeated appeals from senior teachers, the teachers and staff returned from the protest site and reached Ansari Auditorium. After this development, the university administration decided to conduct online classes in view of the current situation on the campus.
Campus gates and library will remain closed
According to the notification of the university administration, classes for all courses will be conducted through online medium with immediate effect. This decision has been taken for the safety of students and continuation of educational activities. The administration has directed students to attend their scheduled online classes and avoid coming to the university campus until further orders. The gates and libraries of the university will remain closed during the period when online classes continue. Separate information will be issued by the university regarding further arrangements.
This ongoing incident in Jamia has again brought into discussion the questions related to the students' movement demanding student union elections, discipline on the campus and restoration of academic environment. At present, a consensus is yet to be reached between the university administration and the protesting students. In the coming days, it will be important to see whether the dispute is resolved through talks or whether the tension on the campus will prolong further.