A section of girl students at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET) have launched a campaign seeking extension of deadline to enter the hostel premises from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. as the present deadline has become a “hindrance to their academic activities.”
After making a vain bid to get the time extended by the college authorities, the students on March 8 will launch a campaign on the Manaveeyam Veedhi seeking public support for their fight.
The campaign titled Break the Curfew has been under way on the campus for long, with representations being given to the college authorities.
“Since our representations to the college management have yielded no results, we have decided to make it a public campaign. It’s actually a curfew for the girl students after 6.30 p.m. All our activities are restricted after the deadline,” Aiswarya, a final-year student in the Electronics and Communication Department, said.
Explaining the rationale behind the campaign, she said girl students were compelled to halt academic activities, especially project work, early in the evening and rush to the campus. Many students wanted to spend time in the library after college hours for reference work but could not do so because of the deadline.
“We are all grown up and know what is good for us. Anyway, deadlines are not applicable to us when we take up jobs,” she said.
The deadline was not just a hindrance to academic activity, she said.
Many a time, girl students from far off places while returning from home had to stay put in railway stations or take shelter somewhere else.
“If the train reaches here after 6.30 p.m., we are not allowed to enter the hostel,” she said.
Vishnu, her batchmate, said it was an “absurd notion” to consider that girls were not safe after sunset.
“Rather than restricting their movement, the authorities should consider providing adequate security on the campus like that provided by other institutions of excellence. It is also a question of the right to equality,” he said.
Students say the rigid deadline is a hindrance to academic activities