Jamia: Students protest demanding reopening of campus

NEW DELHI: Student outfits protested on Friday to demand the resumption of offline academic activity at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and were assured by university officials that it will soon be reopened in a phased manner. The left-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA), along with other student outfits and JMI students, demanded reopening of the campus.

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"Jamia has been closed for more than two years and students from all over the country have been demanding its reopening ever since the DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority) guidelines to reopen all schools and colleges were released in the first week of February," the outfits said in a statement. They claimed that when they reached in front of Gate No. 7 for the protest, the Delhi Police started detaining them, a charge denied by police. Seven students were detained in one batch and two students in the next batch, they alleged.

While these nine students were detained, many others gathered outside Gate Number 20 demanding the reopening of Jamia and the immediate release of the detained students, they said. The Chief Proctor spoke to the protesters and announced that Jamia would reopen in phases and the notification for the first phase would be released by Tuesday.

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The protesting students threatened to go on a stir if the notification for reopening was not issued by Tuesday. Waseem Ahmad Khan, Chief Proctor of the university, said, "A meeting was held between the Deans and Chairpersons and by next week, a notification for phased re-opening of campus will be issued." The university first plans to call those students whose PhD submissions are near and students from the dentistry department where practicals are needed, said another official.