14 EFLU students detained for going on hunger strike demanding re-opening of hostels
The student said the police detained them on the pretext of the MLC elections
By Newsmeter Network Published on 14 March 2021 1:16 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Around 14 students of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, were detained by the police on 14 March after the students organized a hunger strike outside the university gates demanding reopening of hostels.
"We sat on a hunger strike from 12 p.m demanding the reopening of hostels. The administration called six of the students but did not listen to our demands. Later, they called the police when we were sitting outside the university gates," said one of the detained students.
The student said the police detained them on the pretext of the MLC elections and said they were disturbing the situation. They were taken to the Osmania University police station.
Also, the students alleged that the university admin is adamant about not listening to the students and curtailing the voices of those who are demanding the reopening of the hostels for underprivileged students who are unable to study at home due to various reasons.
The students said they had submitted a detailed proposal regarding which students should be allowed to come back to the campus considering that only 50 per cent of the total students can be called back as per the latest UGC guidelines.
"Even after we submitted our proposal on 18 February, the administration did not want to meet us and provided no follow-ups on the proposal they asked us to prepare. On top of that, they released a circular regarding 'in-person classes' on the evening of 18 February completely circumventing our demands. The truth is that we never demanded the resumption of in-person classes in the first place. We have only been demanding access to the hostels and other facilities for students who are in need," said a representative of the EFLU students' action committee.
In order to present a comprehensive picture in the letter, the students had conducted a new survey with a total of 845 respondents in which around 522 had said they are in urgent need of a hostel. "Among those who require hostels, 20.9 per cent are facing an abusive situation at home, including instances of physical violence. The physical and mental health of 13.6 per cent of students has deteriorated due to the discriminatory behaviour by people in the locality on the basis of class, caste, gender, religion, sexuality, and so on. Hence, the hostel environment makes a significant difference for them," said the committee.
