Shimla: Students outfits at the Himachal Pradesh University here held protest demonstrations against hike in prospectus of B.Ed course going to the extent of trying to stop vice chancellor ADN Bajpai for entering his office.
The communist outfit SFI and one affiliated to BJP, Akhil Bharitya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) are in the forefront protesting the steep increase in the prospectus from Rs 300 to Rs 600.
At the university gate, as ABVP students today attempted to stop the vice-chancellor for entering the campus, a scuffle is said to have broken out. To calm the protestors, the vice-chancellor said that he would try to raise the issue before the universities executive committee at the next meeting.
Holding the university authorities responsible for turning a deaf ear to the students problems ABVP president Kushal Kaundal said, “the steep hike of Rs 300 for the B.Ed. prospectus was not acceptable and we will not let the administration implement such an anti-student decision.”
Following the ABVP protest, the SFI dominate Students Central Association (SCA) also held the high pitched demonstration on the campus.
The SFI students protested before the form sale counters and forcibly stopped the sale of B.Ed. prospectus.
Trageting the vice-chancellor over the steep hike, SCA president Rahul Chauhan said, “We would not allow sale of the prospectus till the authorities reverse their decision.”
About three years ago the contentious prospectus was sold by the university authority for Rs 300 only but then the university had done away with the entrance examination.
For this academic session onwards the university administration decided to re-introduce the entrance examination and decided to price the prospectus at Rs 600, which has triggered the students’ protests.
An intern at Hill Post, Dharam Prakash is pursuing masters in journalism & mass communication at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.
Previously, he has worked as an intern at Dainik Jagran Ltd.
A young journalist in making, Dharam Prakash loves to blog and writes what he believes in.
