Students take to the streets

HYDERABAD: The ongoing protest at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) for the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor continued on Wednesday with the students coming out of their campus to stage a protest at the Courtyard Mariott Hotel where the varsity’s executive council met under the chairmanship of in-charge VC Mohammad Miyan.As the protestors raised slogans, police arrested and shifted them to the Gandhi Nagar police station and later let them off. One of the arrested, Subhash Kumar, alleged that the incharge VC was behind the police action. “The police pushed us with lathis. Some of us sustained minor injuries,” he claimed.  The students alleged that the incharge VC had not visited the university for over a year and had not addressed any of their problems.  They said the EC meeting was held for two reasons: either to discuss the names of those nominated by the existing search committee for the post of the VC or set up a new panel to nominate new contenders.  The EFLU Teachers’ Association, meanwhile, appealed to the executive council to appoint a regular vice-chancellor as soon as possible and save the EFLU Act, 2006 and the university. Secretary of the association, Surendra Singh Negi, said,  “We have been waiting for one-and-a-half-years. We are opposing the appointment of the present vice-chancellor as it is in violation of the EFLU Act, 2006. We have also written about this to the Human Resource Development Ministry.” According to him, under the Act, if a VC retires, he or she can take an extension till the next VC is appointed or the pro-VC should be made the VC or the senior most faculty of EFLU should be made the VC.  “None of these happened. The incharge VC is also the regular VC of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Such a dual role is in violation of the varsity rules,” Surendra Singh said.