Hyderabad: Amid ongoing protests by English and Foreign Language University (EFLU) students, the administration removed Proctor T Samson and appointed him Dean of Planning, in an order dated Tuesday, November 7.
This comes amid students’ indefinite hunger strike at the university to protest over the administration’s disregard for the students’ issues and an unsatisfactory probe into the sexual assault of a fellow student.
The students had been demanding that the Procotor be removed from his position while expressing no faith in the investigation with the proctorial board in place.
As per the order released, the head of the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, Prof T Srivani has been appointed as the new Proctor replacing Samson for one year.
Meanwhile, the students who continued their hunger strike for a third consecutive day held that they would continue their protest until all their demands were fulfilled.
Other demands of the students that are pending are justice for the alleged sexual assault victim, withdrawal of the FIRs and show cause notices against protesting students.
Reconstitution of the ICC with elected student representatives, strictly under UGC regulations, the resignation of the V-C and conducting students union elections immediately are among the other demands of students.
EFLU admin clarifies; students fact check
Following the detention of students amid a hunger strike on Monday, November 6, the EFLU administration released a statement to the media clarifying their stance and calling for peace on campus.
However, the students’ collective countered several narratives of the administration by releasing a fact-check report.
Students who sat on a hunger strike on the EFLU campus demanding justice for the survivor of sexual assault were roughly manhandled with a few of them being detained by the police.
EFLU administration addresses students
The university in its statement said that it informed the students that they fully understand their concerns on the reported sexual assault.
The senior administrative functionaries stated that the arrest of culprits is not in the hands of the university as the police are thoroughly investigating the incident.
On the students’ concern over the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) chairperson holding the position of the dean, the university stated that it was incorrect.
The administration also addressed the demand of the students for immediate elections to the ICC stating that they would be conducted after the completion of the Legislative Assembly elections in Telangana. They also assured that elected student representatives would be inducted into the committee.
The administration claimed that on one hand, students are saying that there was no CCTV covering the area of the alleged offence and on the other hand a few say that surveillance has increased on the campus.
Over the allegations of restrictions on students’ mobility and access to campus spaces, the university administration states that it is completely false.
The university clarified that they have not received any letter so far following reports of parents writing to the V-C.
Students’ fact-sheet
In their fact sheet, the students slammed the EFLU admin and stated that the administration addressed them only after their attempt at using police officers to foil the protest failed. “The proctor and the registrar did not appeal, instead, they were repeating the same statements from the past,” they stated.
The students also claimed that their demands for assurance of a fair investigation, repealing the false FIRs against the students, resignation of the proctorial board and V-C, immediate ICC elections and the removal of Annexure 5, against protests on campus, have not been addressed so far.
The students stated that the claims of the admin that the chairperson of ICC does not hold the position of Dean or HOD is new to them and was not the case at the time of appointment. “It is when the students raised concern about this fact, that the admin removed the ICC chairperson from the position of Dean.”
EFLU students also held that the postponement of elections by the admin is the strategy to hold it off until the student protests are over and said that ‘democracy can wait’ on campus.
Clarifying their stance on the security arrangements within the campus, they said, “Despite having 300 security guards and 150 cameras to cover 30 acres, the police were still incompetent in identifying the perpetrators,” adding that the CCTV cameras were used to penalise students rather than for their safety.
“They used the CCTV footage to identify the protesting students issue show-cause notices and lodge police complaints,” the students said. “Every single day, students are disturbed by the security who ask them to leave the place where they are sitting. We have several videos and photographs to show how the students’ freedom to mobility and freedom to assemble has been obstructed by the securities,” asserted students in their fact sheet.
Evidence of the mail the students sent to the administration on November 5 at 6:56 pm alongside the admin refusing to accept grievance letters from students on various issues is also stated to be available.
EFLU protests so far
On October 16, about 300 students held a protest for over 24 hours, demanding the reconstitution of the university’s Sensitisation, Prevention and Redressal of Sexual Harassment (SPARSH) committee.
Students said that the previous SPARSH committee, which was constituted under an EFLU ordinance based on the Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act of 2013, had been defunct since June 2023.
Just a day after the protest, a female student was sexually assaulted on the night of October 18 at around 10 pm, which led to further protests against the administration by students the following night, October 19.
The police have booked 11 students of the university, based on the proctor’s complaint, after the protests on October 19 over the administration’s disregard for the students’ issues, as they demanded that the victim’s name be revealed in public.
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