Central varsities’ students traumatised by protests and violence, now stress over uncertain future

Shruty Yadav, a final-year undergraduate student of Jamia Millia Islamia, is worried not just about the Covid-19 pandemic, but also about finishing her assignments

Shruty Yadav, a final-year undergraduate student of Jamia Millia Islamia, is worried not just about the Covid-19 pandemic, but also about finishing her assignments without having “much clue about her future”.

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“We are flooded with assignments and are still not very clear on what the university plans to do about our final year exams. We’ve heard exams will take place in July and, yet, we are being asked to do multiple assignments in every paper unlike previous terms,” she said.

Yadav is among thousands of final-year students across the three central universities in the national capital who are uncertain about their future course of action. “I don’t even know why I filled the application form for further education and why we are giving money to colleges. There is little clarity on anything,” she says from her home town in Bihar.

Yadav also pointed out that students are also dealing with the “stressful environment” at home during the lockdown. “Our families are also stressed because of their work. It is a difficult situation to be in or explain to them that we are using our laptops and phones for studies and not leisure,” she said.

For students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University, the academic crisis this year has been more severe as these varsities were shut for months due to strikes and protests.

Last year, JNU students began an indefinite strike from November to protest against the proposed hostel fee hike which they said would push marginalised students out of the system. The three-month-long agitation came to an end in January.

Jamia, on the other hand, was shut after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act near the varsity took a violent turn on December 15 last year. At both universities, students were only able to attend classes for a few weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown was announced in March, leading to suspension of classes again.

Shairik Sengupta, a final-year postgraduate student of JNU, said, “In the past six months, we have only had regular classes during February and a couple of weeks in March. After students returned to classrooms following the hostel fee hike protest, we thought we had the entire semester to make up. Instead, the Covid-19 crisis happened and we had to switch to online learning almost overnight. Students did not sign up for this.”

The MSc student also said this is the first time that he is going through a teaching-learning process, which is completely online. “We have been unable to prepare for competitive exams since it is not easy to navigate through online learning so quickly. Many students may not even opt for their PhDs this year since there is very little resource to prepare for the interview or tests,” he said.

Poor internet connectivity or the complete lack of it has added to the woes of students. “Many students did not take books back home. They do not have easy access to e-resources. In addition to this, they have to study for their final year while battling the trauma of being attacked inside their own university,” said Akhtarista Ansari, a final-year undergraduate student at Jamia, while referring to the December 15 incident when police had entered the campus, allegedly to nab miscreants.

The 19-year-old added that the recent arrests of Jamia students in connection with the northeast Delhi riots have left many stressed. “Students are randomly being called for interrogation. There is an atmosphere of fear and concern. How are we expected to study and submit our assignments amid all this?” she said.

Last month, at least two Jamia student activists were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Jamia media coordinator Ahmad Azeem said, “We have formed a mental health committee and have made helpline numbers available for students in case they need any help.” Similar initiatives have been launched by DU and JNU as well.

JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said the varsity had put up videos and helpline numbers on their Covid-19 portal for stress management.