Nagpur News.
The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday hammered out the nagging problem of Engineering students and provided them the mighty relief for which the RTMNU had turned a sort of battlefield for the past few months. The High Court, in a far reaching judgment, directed Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University to allow the students appear for summer examinations.
The Court, hearing the petition filed by the engineering students under the banner of NSRU (National Students’ Revolution Union and STON, gave its judgment in favour of the students. The students who will benefit the most by the judgment include those students went through Reassessment process and whose results were delayed because of delay in ravaluation results. Now, the way for their appearance in the summer examinations has been cleared. About 214 students had filed the petition.
Another crucial issue will be sorted out on April 22. The jumping students’ hearing will be held on April 22 by which the RTMNU does not come out with a solution then the High Court is likely to put its foot down and may deliver a ruling favouring the students.
It may be recalled the volcano of the problem had been active for the past few months and was spewing hot lava time and again. Nagpur Today has flashed umpteen reports on the demand of Engineering students and subsequent agitations, violence. But the adamant RTMNU higher ups frequently let down the students despite assurances. Even Governor’s Office was drawn to the long raging battle. Some of the reports flashed by Nagpur Today include: “Chaos mars varsity’s budget; members demand VC’s resignation; mild lathi charge on students” wherein it was reported the Vice chancellor of Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) Dr. Vilas Sapkal experienced the bad day as the Senate members who arrived at the meeting to present varsity’s annual budget resorted to chaotic scenes and expressed distrust. The irate members also raised slogans against VC while hundreds of students from Wardha who gathered outside university premises tried to force themselves in the premises. The police resorted to mild lathi charge in order to disperse the crowd. The senate meeting which began on peaceful note on Thursday suddenly went for a toss and was adjourned till further notice. The annual budget too was eventually disapproved.
While the meeting was on Senate Member D.K. Agrawal stood up and tried to submit a resolution to the Chair, which was trashed. As the house got adjourned the members started shouting slogans, expressed their distrust on the Vice Chancellor and asked him to resign. They also threw the papers in the house.
Earlier in the morning, the University premises in front of Maharajbagh was under heavy police cover, since the varsity was expecting the engineering students who were not allowed jumping the premises to disrupt the proceedings of the meeting.
“Engineering students’ anger reaches its zenith as patience run out waiting for revaluation results”: Waiting infinitely for the results of the revaluation and withheld papers, the anger of engineering students reached its peak when the National Students Union of India (NSUI) had gone to meet the Vice Chancellor and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Both sent the delegation of students from one official to another.
All that the students wanted was justice and a solution to their long pending grievances. The extreme delay in declaring the results of the revaluation and the withheld papers is causing problems to the students in getting admissions into their colleges.
Two months ago, when the student representatives met the Vice Chancellor, he had promised the students that he will talk with the college authorities and ensure that the aggrieved students will get admissions. However nothing has been done by the varsity for their admissions as yet. Similarly the uncertainty in the minds of the students’ if they have passed because of the revaluation or not. Some of them, who did not want to take the risk, have appeared in the Winter Examinations too. Both, getting the revaluation costs Rs 150 for challenging and 300 for Xerox of each paper and if he /she is appearing for Winter Exams, it costs around Rs 2000/-. If and when the results of either of the two are declared, if he or she gets cleared or passes the exam, it is natural for him or her to feel cheated. The Varsity seems to know this fact and is fleecing the students into paying money for the revaluation and Winter Examination, knowing fully well that the results are not going to be declared in time. The students’ representatives and office-bearers of NSUI allege that there is no co-ordination between the authorities too. The students alleged that VC, Pro-VC, Chief Examination Officer or other varsity officials blames the other for not functioning properly.
Some students alleged that if this is not enough, the varsity changes the subject in the Examination hall ticket or examination admission card. When the student goes to get it corrected, they are asked to fill a form and submit it and it will get corrected. But unfortunately this never happens and the results of the students get with held for not appearing in a subject.
In one incident that came to fore was when a result of a girl student showed 41 marks in the mark sheet. After revaluation, it showed as changed to 57 marks and in the final mark sheet, it showed only 25 marks.
Finally they reached the chamber of Vice-Chancellor. They were asked to wait for one and a half hour. After that when the student representatives and the office-bearers of NSUI met VC he asked the students’ representatives to go and talk to their college authorities. These students said that when they approach the college authorities, they ask them to go to and tell their grievances to RTMNU authorities.
This game of sending the students back and forth irked them. Some students allegedly threw some ink on the Vice Chancellor’s car.
Nagpur Today talked to the students’ representatives and NSUI office-bearers who were hauled up to Sitabuldi Police Station for throwing ink on VC’s car. They vehemently refused the charges and said that hundreds of students and onlookers were present at the scene when they had gone to press their demands. Some miscreant could have thrown the ink. The students present on the scene say that it could be MNS or some other political party too who could done this misdeed. However, the RTMNU Registrar Dr Ashok Gomase filed an official police complaint. Senior Police Inspector of Sitabuldi Police Station Sanjay Verankar is investigating the matter.
Earlier the office-bearers of Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) had also submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor demanding almost the same demands as that of NSUI. The situation that persisted two months ago still persists. The General Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, Jitendra Singh Thakur and an Engineering Student Sushil Aloney explained to Nagpur Today the entire scenario and said that finally it is the students who are suffering in the process. The authorities are just playing the blame game and shifting their blame on one another instead of doing something concrete and resolving the grievances of the students.
