Students affiliated with the Students Federation of India (SFI) held a protest at the Himachal Pradesh University (HP) campus, accusing the university of admitting ineligible students into the PhD programme. The SFI demanded the immediate declaration of undergraduate and postgraduate results.
The demonstrators gathered near the Pink Petal in the university and raised slogans calling for the cancellation of PhD admissions of three students. They also demanded the early declaration of postgraduate and undergraduate results. The SFI threatened the varsity administration with intense agitation if it did not consider its demands.
SFI Joint Secretary (HPU campus) Santosh Kumar alleged that the University started practicing nepotism in 2019, during the tenure of Vice Chancellor Prof Sikendar Kumar, who is now a Rajya Sabha member from BJP. He added that the varsity gave admission to three ineligible candidates in PhD, including the Vice Chancellor’s son, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kumar also blamed the Enterprise resource planning (ERP), an online system, for the delay in the declaration of the result for the UG and PG courses. He suggested that the university authorities rectify the issue or consider changing the system.
The protest by the SFI comes amid dissatisfaction and frustration from students across the country concerning online education and admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to ensure admission procedures at universities are transparent and fair; otherwise, many students might miss out on courses and training opportunities.
