BU students rise against ‘autocratic’ V-C
Prabhu Dev says they were being instigated by vested interests
A large number of students at Bangalore University (BU) staged a protest on the varsity’s Jnanabharathi campus here on Wednesday condemning what they called the ''autocratic and non-academic'' attitude of the Vice-Chancellor, N Prabhu Dev.
The V-C, however, has refuted the allegations and asked the protesters to talk to him directly if they have grievances.
The protesters, mostly postgraduate students, said that the university had fallen into a “state of disorderliness” as the V-C and other varsity officials had stopped taking interest.
In a statement, the BU Postgraduate and Research Students’ Forum said that there was “no order” in the university’s main campus at Jnanabharathi.
“The V-C’s uncordial relation with the registrars has tarnished the university’s image. The main campus has pathetic roads, its buildings are dilapidated, there is no proper sanitation in the departments, toilets stink, and classrooms cannot be compared even to those at government schools in villages,” the Forum said.
There are no canteens or healthcare facility for the 2,000-odd students. The guest house, the library, and the computer and the internet facilities are not maintained properly.
Existing hostels are “in shambles”and the new one is yet to be built. The university has not paid adequate attention to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) scheme, the gymnasium and the swimming pools have been shut for more than two years, the Forum explained.
No transparency
The recently conducted entrance exam for admission to PhD programmes “lacked transparency” and was organised with an intention to “deter” SC/ST students. Dev disputed the claim and said the exam did not have any human interference.
The long list of students’ grouses notwithstanding, what irritated them the most was the V-C’s refusal to visit the Jnanabharathi campus for the last several weeks. At present, Dev works out of the Central College campus. The protesters took out a rally and demanded action. They warned of a “university bundh” if the demands were not met.
The V-C said that it was his prerogative to work from the place of his choice. He said that some vested interests had created a “vitiated” atmosphere against him.
“Yes, I don’t visit the main campus but that has not affected my work. Not a single file is pending,” Dev told Deccan Herald over phone.
He said that he visited the campus on Wednesday but the protesters gheraoed him outside the Administrative Block and raised slogans against him. Dev also said that the protesters did not speak to him at all.
“If they have any genuine grouse against the state of affairs, let them talk to me directly.
I’ll always be available to them,” In his view, the protesters were “instigated” by some vested interests whom he refused to name.
He said he would visit the main campus once the “atmosphere becomes clean”.
