HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Central University students have been on a sit-in protest on the campus since Friday demanding withdrawal of the expensive Common University Entrance Test (CUET) and PG counselling fee. Himanshu Rai, a second-year Mass Communications student at HCU, pointed out that the Rs 750 fee for each college is burdensome for students and doesn't align with the original purpose of CUET.
“The very idea of a CUET is to do away with spending time and money applying to multiple colleges across India. The fee in top colleges like JNU, Indian Institute of Management and Commerce, and colleges like Banaras Hindu University is only Rs 200,” he said.
Students also raised the issue of interviewers openly asking for caste certificates, even from those who haven’t applied under any quota. "I have not applied to the college under any quota but even if I do, why should the interviewer ask for caste certificate? I fear it has the potential to cloud their judgment of my capabilities," said Parthiv (name changed), an aspirant. The students said caste certificates were already submitted during the application process, and the interviewers' requests for them were unnecessary.
Among other grievances, the students expressed concerns about the university registrar, Dr Devesh Nigam, holding multiple offices, including the controller of examinations (CoE). They believe this has caused delays in handling student certificates and approvals. Despite numerous requests and letters, there has been no improvement in the situation.
"He has been handling both offices for more than a year now. And while we had no issues earlier thinking things would change once the vacancy is filled, nothing has changed. Several requests and letters are pending on the registrar's desk, leading to great delay for a lot of certificates and other approvals for students. Their only excuse for the delay has been 'him having too much on his plate,'' said Kripa M., a student leader.
The dismissal of the dean of student welfare (DSW) without proper investigation into the allegations against him also raised questions among the students. They feel that the university administration is not taking responsibility for certain incidents, leading to a lack of accountability. “When students questioned why an organisation that wasn't a registered student organisation held a 'guru puja' on the campus with 'arms', they fired the DSW instead of the VC and registrar taking the blame,” she told this newspaper.
With the admission season approaching, the students demanded that the university address these issues promptly to ensure a smooth start to the new academic year. They said that neglecting such problems may lead to further deliberate cover-ups and students being victimised. “If things are taken for granted and allegations not probed, more people will fall victim to such attempts which seem to be deliberate cover-ups,” said Sohel Ahmed, another student leader.
