Students protest at Osmania seeking Covid testing, postponement of exams

Hyderabad: Over 200 students staged a protest at Osmania University on Friday seeking Covid-19 testing and postponement of exams, after they claimed that six students there tested positive for the coronavirus.

The infections came to light when the university tested 150 students from the Science department. The authorities refused to conduct tests for the remaining hostel inmates, the students alleged.

The university however said only two girls at the hostel tested positive and they were isolated immediately. Arrangements were being made to test the remaining hostellers, it said, but  refused to postpone the examinations. More than 8,000 students are set to appear for the exams including those from other districts.

"Some 3,000-4,000 students are living in the hostels, and we all come in contact with each other. After conducting tests for just 150 students, the university says it would not do further tests as we have exams the next day. This is not fair," a student at OU said.

Students said, “The university is neither agreeing to postpone the exams nor conduct tests at the campus, but wants a Covid-negative test report from all of us. We were told that tests for all those returning to hostels will be conducted. Now, a day before our exams, the university is asking us to produce a negative report while denying test at the campus.”

The university has assured students that those who cannot appear for examinations, for the reasons of Covid-19, can sit for a re-examination and this will not be treated as supplementary. The students are not happy with this response.