Students of St. Stephen’s College here on Thursday went on mass boycott of the mess after those who were vocal about their objection against granting of autonomous status of the college were allegedly not allotted residence seats (hostel accommodation). Of 400 resident scholars, 360 boycotted dinner on Thursday.
The students said residence seats are allotted on a yearly basis after an interview, however the allotment is “arbitrary”.
The criteria
Commenting on the list released on Thursday, the students alleged that “students who had questioned the autocratic functioning of the present administration were purposely not granted residence even though they met the criteria usually considered for granting residence”. These students met the criteria of need, contribution to college and academic performance, and would have qualified for the facilities had toed the college administration’s line, the protesting students added.
A student alleged that the Associate Dean of Residence had told him that “his opinion on the autonomy issue became the primary criterion to determine his admission into the college residence”. The student added that the official asked students how they could expect residence despite many vacancies when they had protested outside the Principal’s office.
‘Autonomous status’
The students felt the move comes at a time when there is need to discuss and arrive at a consensus on the larger issue of “privatisation of education” and granting autonomous status to educational institutions.
“The space for students who are stakeholders in the issue is being curbed by these very institutions via these emphatic threats to their living and flourishing as students in college,” they added.
Commenting about the hostel interviews, activists from Pinjra Tod, an organisation that works against regressive hostel regulations, had said that the interview “further reaffirms how re-admission rules for hostel are basically meant to silence dissent, to set a precedent that if students raise their voices against the administration they can be penalised through denial of hostel seat in the next year.”
They had added that for many students, denial of a hostel seat could mean the end of their education because very few are able to afford the high rents outside.
The college had earlier put a notice saying that allotment of college residence will be based on the discretion of the college administration. The notice had also added a reminder that “granting of residence facility was a privilege and not a right”. The college had recently seen protests by students, teachers and karamcharis against the decision of the college Governing Body to apply for autonomy.
