Members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest in front of St. Aloysius P.U. College here on Wednesday demanding that “vindictive” character certificate awarded to students who had participated in a previous protest be withdrawn.
The protestors alleged that after a protest against corruption, held as a mark of solidarity with the nationwide Anna Hazare protests, the college management had issued an “unsatisfactory” character certificate to some of these students.
Bindu Madhav, a student who had passed out of the Commerce stream in the college this year, said: “During the previous protest, they took a video of us. Without giving us any notice, and even though my attendance is 88 per cent, they issued a certificate saying I had unsatisfactory conduct.” He claimed that he was targeted for being one of the main organisers of the protest.
“The college management has been harassing the students who had protested even though they have performed well academically. By resorting to this vindictive behaviour, they are jeopardising the future of the students,” said Ramesh K., State Secretary of ABVP.
Of the nearly 200 students who had participated in the anti-corruption protest, Mr. Ramesh said, around eight students had been given similar certificates.
He lambasted the college management for their “dual standards”, and asked how a college that had recently been in the news for starting courses without approval could issue a certificate of conduct to students.
Denying that the anti-corruption protest had anything to do with the character certificate, John D’Souza, who was the principal of the college then, said if it was the case all 200 would have received similar certificates. Mr. Madhav had been warned about his behaviour in college through the two years in PUC. “We have received many complaints against him, including eve-teasing, participating in communal activities, and groupism. He had received several warning about his behaviour. When he didn’t change, we had to issue an “unsatisfactory” certificate,” said Mr. D’Souza, who is now the Vice-Principal of St. Aloysius College.
Even as the ABVP threatened another protest if the certificate was not withdrawn, Mr. D’Souza said the college management would not change its decision.
