Students of Assam's Tezpur University stage hunger strike against 'prolonged inaction' towards removal of VC

Guwahati: The students of Tezpur University, a central University in Assam, on Monday staged a nine-hour hunger strike alleging "prolonged inaction" by the Union Ministey of Education (MoE) towards their demand for removal of Vice-Chancellor Sambhu Nath Singh.

A team of the MoE, which visited the univeristy on December 6, assured the agitators that Singh would be kept out of the administrative works till completion of an inquiry into allegations of corruption levelled by the students. But the students said the protest would continue till removal of Singh, who has remained absent since September.

"The MoE has conveyed through a WhatsApp message that an official resolution is likely to be issued on Friday. Students, however, remain skeptical, citing repeated delays and informal assurances in the past," the students said in a statement on Friday evening.

On Sunday, the students decided to extend the complete boycott of all academic and administrative activities until an official resolution was issued by MoE towards action against Singh.

The crisis in the university campus has continued for nearly three months (mid September) and on November 29, the students shutdown the university. Following this the MoE rushed a team to the varsity.

"The student fraternity asserts that academic normalcy will not resume until a concrete and official intervention restores institutional integrity. The students will not back down until Prof. Shambhu Nath Singh is removed from this university."