IP University asked to ensure students are not victimised

NEW DELHI: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has directed Indraprastha University authorities to ensure no private college would take action against students protesting against hike in fees. Sisodia’s order came following a report in Tuesday’s ET which detailed threats students had received for protesting against fee hike.

ET’s story quoted students from a section of private colleges affiliated to the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The students had alleged that they faced threats of rustication, defamation and ruin of academic career. Quoting the precise threats, the Delhi government attached a copy of the ET report for university officials to peruse.

Earlier in the day, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, attaching the ET story, “This is surprising. Students shouldn’t be threatened. Students, please come to me if there is any problem.” He also met a delegation of students concerning the issue on Tuesday morning.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister and known to take personal interest in the subject, issued a sternly-worded order to the IP university officials. “It is the considered opinion of this government that right to protest and right to dissent are fundamental rights of the students and they have every right to meet the chief minister or the deputy chief minister and also carry out peaceful protest against any arbitrary fee hike,” the order issued by Sisodia said. It pinned down the responsibility of ensuring students’ safety on university officials.



“It is hereby ordered that the Director (Higher Education) may clearly instruct the GGSIP university authorities that no private college can take action against any student in this matter and any such action will be viewed seriously by the government and appropriate action taken against the said college/institute,” the order said.

One of the students expressed relief. “I feel relieved now. I hope the trouble ends with this,” she told ET after the order. The protests began with a February 19 order of fee hike issued by the Delhi government’s director of higher education. Initially, there were several localised student protests in colleges. They called the hike “arbitrary” and “unfair”. But a protest outside Kejriwal’s house on Sunday saw withdrawal of the hike. The fee hike was to be applied retrospectively from 2013.