STUDENTS PROTESTED AS THE GOVERNOR REFUSED TO TAKE MEMORANDUM

STUDENTS PROTESTED AS THE GOVERNOR REFUSED TO TAKE MEMORANDUM

18-JULY-ENG 13

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------The student organization AISA attempted to submit a 23-point memorandum addressing various student issues to the Governor of Bihar and the Vice-Chancellor at Veer Kunwar Singh University. Dozens of AISA leaders and hundreds of students had gathered peacefully at the university's main gate, awaiting the Governor's arrival.

AISA alleges that the Governor's convoy passed by the main gate without stopping; he neither interacted with the students nor accepted their memorandum. The students described this as a disregard for their democratic demands and an insult to the student community.

In protest against the Governor's refusal to accept the memorandum, AISA leaders and students staged a demonstration, displaying black armbands and raising slogans. Subsequently, a large number of students marched towards the university's administrative building and reached the Vice-Chancellor's office. During this time, the police administration attempted to stop the protesters, leading to a heated altercation between the police and the students. However, the students remained steadfast in their demands and continued to call for immediate intervention by the university administration.

AISA stated that students' grievances regarding the education system, admissions, examinations, results, hostels, scholarships, and other issues concerning student welfare have long been ignored by the university. Consequently, this protest was organized to support a 23-point list of demands.

AISA warned that if prompt, positive action is not taken regarding the students' demands, the agitation will be intensified and expanded; the university administration and the state government would bear full responsibility for the consequences. Participants in the protest included AISA District President Vikash Kumar, District Secretary Jaishankar Prasad, District Joint Secretaries Chandan Das, Roshan Kushwaha, and Sahil Arora, District Vice-Presidents Rajesh Kumar, Anup Kumar, Vivek, and Sagar Paswan, District Joint Secretary Sumit Kumar, as well as Gautam Yadav, Virat, Neetu Kumari (State Vice-President and women's wing leader), Muskan Kumari, Varsha, Hansika Ojha, and Dipankar, along with dozens of other students.

AISA prepared its 23-point charter of demands as follows:

1. Completely abolish the mandatory CGPA requirement for undergraduate (UG) courses and guarantee the award of Honours and Research degrees to all students completing the four-year curriculum.

2. Reinstate the provision of 30 API score points for the Ph.D. degree.

3. Ensure free admission for female students across all UG and PG classes in all colleges, in accordance with the Bihar government's directives.

4. Withdraw the New Education Policy (NEP) and abolish the CBCS system.

5. Immediately announce the date for student union elections and conduct the polls.

6. Implement GSCASH (Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment) within university and college campuses.

7. Establish a modern printing press within the university. 8. A guarantee must be provided to ensure the timely availability of fellowships and research materials to research scholars.

9. Original certificates, mark sheets, and degrees that have been pending for years must be made available within a stipulated timeframe.

10. A government data bank should be established at the university to facilitate the prompt resolution of technical errors.

11. Adequate hostel facilities should be provided at the university and all affiliated colleges.

12. Academic programs in Journalism, LL.B., and LL.M. should be introduced at the university.

13. The number of seats across all undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) subjects should be increased in proportion to the student population.

14. Regular classes should be conducted—with a mandatory 75% student attendance requirement—across all university departments and affiliated colleges.

15. The BET examination should be conducted regularly every year. (These were among a total of 23 demands.)