Incensed over the alleged negligent attitude of college administration for not submitting examination forms of around 500 students belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes to the HNB Garhwal University, the students of DAV (PG) College led by students’ leader Swati Negi staged a protest at its campus and submitted a memorandum to the College principal on Saturday.
They also urged the college authorities to allow these students to appear in their annual examination scheduled to begin from March 25. However, College Principal Devendra Bhasin claimed that these students had failed to submit their income certificate. Inspite of well informed in the media, the students never heed to the instructions. An official of the college informed around 6,000 SC/ST students enrolled in different bachelor degree courses in the college in current academic session. Except 500 students, all the students had submitted their income certificate.
He said that the College had not accepted the examination forms of around 500 students who had failed to submit income certificate, after last date of submission of forms. SC/ST students whose families’ incomes are less than Rs 2.5 lakh receive scholarship from the Social Welfare department. In addition to this, College receives around half of the total tuition fees and examination fees for these students from the Social Welfare Department.
College would have to pay around Rs 700 per students to the university if such forms were forwarded to the university because they did not submit their income certificate. He appealed the students to cooperate with the college administration for conducting annual examination peacefully. Around 30,000 students would appear in their annual examination from Tuesday. Dozens of students assembled at college campus and shouted slogan against the college administration. later they locked the college gate forcibly. Following this, large numbers of students who reached the college for collecting admit card had to return back
Swati Negi alleged that the college administration had played with the future of these students by not sending their examination forms to the university. She warned that the college students would intensify their protest unless and until their demands were met. It should be mentioned here that in the academic session 2010-11, around 3200 students’ examination forms of DAV (PG) College students were rejected by the HNB Garhwal University as students had not submitted its examination forms on said date though college had forwarded these forms to the university.