While much of Bengaluru was occupied with the bus strike and the bandh called over the Mahadayi tribunal verdict in the past week, a silent protest has been brewing on the campus of a college in the heart of the city.
In the past week, students studying at the Bannerghatta Road campus of Christ University have been raising their voices on social media about draconian rules imposed on them by the college. On networking platforms like Quora and on blogs, the students have been posting a series of pieces criticising the college administration and articulating their difficulties.
While much of the students’ protests has taken the form of an online campaign, on Friday, over 250 students gathered in the campus quandrangle clad in black for a silent protest.
Earlier, on Thursday, an Economics professor who refused to comply with the administration's orders to cut the attendance of students who don't follow the prescribed dress code, was allegedly forced to quit.
The students demanded that the faculty members listen to their concerns, but received no response from the administration.
The students were protesting against a number of rules imposed on them by the college management, including stringent limits on minimum attendance and strict dress-codes.
In a blog titled, "’We cannot be ill-treated’: Why Christ University saw a silent protest by students", published on YouthKiAwaaz a student elaborates on the rules imposed by the university.
The main points addressed in the blog are:
1) The requirement of a minimum of 85% attendance to be permitted to write exams. According to UGC regulations, students are only required to have 75% attendance in each semester. Even where students stay within the 15% margin that they are allowed, students are interrogated by authorities on the reasons for being absent for any class.
2) While UGC regulations mandate that 60% of the student’s grade be based on internal assessments and 40% be based on end-of-term exams, the college has shifted the balance to 70% for internal assessments and only 30% for exams.
3) Students are forbidden to organise and attend any meeting within the university without the VC's permission.
4) The manner in which the Economics professor was forced to leave. Reportedly, when the professor arrived on the campus two days after he refused to comply with dress code regulations, security guards stopped him from entering. Further, after his dismissal, when he went to get his books from his office, his room was reportedly locked and most of the faculty members refrained to talk to him. In the wake of this incident, two other teachers have also reportedly resigned.