Student organisations protest outside Jamia Vice Chancellor's office

NEW DELHI: Left-affiliated student bodies AISA and SFI on Wednesday protested outside the office of Jamia Millia Islamia''s vice-chancellor, demanding immediate re-opening of the campus, disbursal of scholarships and semester extension for first-year students.

They submitted memorandums to the VC seeking reopening of libraries, waiving fees for the present session, reimbursement of fees charged for the previous session and inviting application for hostel accommodation, among others.

The JMI, owing to the COVID-19 induced lockdown, has been physically shut since March only.

"When everything has been reopened including gyms, malls, cinema halls, why are the universities still under complete lockdown? The emergency mode of digital education threatens to become a normalcy in Jamia Millia Islamia," a statement by the Jamia unit of the All India Students Association (AISA) said.

Phase-wise reopening of campus

The student delegation, which met members of the JMI administration following the protest, presented their demands to the authority. The list includes the phase-wise reopening of the campus, adequate aids of internet and laptops to those in need, extending the semester of Bachelors and Masters first year and shifting the examinations to a later date.

The university administration, as per the AISA, has assured the students of a phase-wise reopening of the campus starting next week itself.

Following the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in March, education institutes in the national capital including Jamia have been closed for regular classes and exams.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) also took part in the protest.

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