Jadavpur University students on hunger strike demanding admission tests, VC sends report to governor
The tests, an integral part of JU that ranked fifth among top 10 universities in India in a Union human resource development ministry survey in 2017, were scrapped on July 4.
Students of Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata announced on Saturday that the hunger strike they started the night before would continue if the university did not take any decision on restoring the old admission system by Sunday.
The tests, an integral part of JU that ranked fifth among top 10 universities in India in a Union human resource development ministry survey in 2017, were scrapped on July 4. This was done after admit cards for admission tests were issued to around 17,000 applicants for undergraduate courses against a fee of Rs 100 each.
The move was made allegedly under pressure from Trinamool government that wants board exam results to be the sole criteria for admission in all colleges and universities. State education minister Partha Chatterjee has said there cannot be two sets of rules in one education system and hence admission on the basis of marks secured in board examination should be the uniform criteria everywhere.
Students and most of the teachers at JU see this as a move to rob the premier institute of autonomy.
Read: Jadavpur University VC offers to resign after students protest scrapping admission test
On Saturday, students from all six departments in the arts faculty demanded an emergency meeting of the JU executive council. Twenty students started the hunger strike and their union announced that the agitation would continue for an indefinite period if the demands were not met.
On Friday, vice-chancellor Suranjan Das offered to resign when he met Bengal governor Kesari Nath Tripathi who is also the chancellor of JU.
Officials familiar with the outcome of the meeting said Tripathi advised Das not take any hurried decision and asked for a report on the sequence of events.
The report was prepared and sent to the governor on Saturday afternoon, said JU registrar Chiranjib Bhattacharya. “We will wait for advice from the governor. Depending on what he says, the executive council may meet on Monday or Tuesday,” Bhattacharya added.
The meeting between the governor and Das took place after the latter had a two-hour-long meeting with education minister Partha Chatterjee.
The meeting raised eyebrows but neither Das nor Chatterjee talked to the media on Friday although speculations were rife that the government might engage an external agency to complete the admission process.