Mangaluru: Students of the prestigious St Agnes College in Mangaluru staged a protest against the management for scheduling undergraduate semester examinations during the Dasara festival and holiday period. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) supported the students, who accused the college administration of ignoring their request to postpone the examinations.
The college, located near Bendorewell in Mangaluru, has scheduled semester examinations for undergraduate students from October 12 to October 28. Students said the examination schedule would prevent them from celebrating Dasara and participating in the Mangaluru Dasara festivities.
According to the protesting students, they had approached the college management in advance and requested a postponement of the examinations. However, they alleged that the administration failed to respond positively and decided to proceed with the existing schedule.
Angered by the decision, hundreds of students boycotted the examinations and staged a sit-in protest at the college gate. ABVP extended its support to the agitation and submitted a formal complaint to the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, seeking intervention in the matter.
The protest intensified after police personnel arrived at the spot and attempted to take ABVP student leaders into custody. As the police tried to escort the leaders away in a police jeep, students and activists blocked the vehicle and disrupted traffic in protest.
Despite the presence of senior police officers, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the protesters refused to move. Some students reportedly lay down in front of the police jeep and demanded the immediate release of the detained student leaders.
The confrontation continued as the students insisted that they would not leave the college entrance until their leaders were released. Their resistance eventually forced the police to move the jeep aside.
The examination schedule and the college management’s alleged failure to address the students’ concerns have triggered debate in academic circles. The protesters maintained that examinations should not have been scheduled during a major festival period without adequately considering students’ requests and cultural commitments.
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