Demanding various facilities such as bus services and scholarships, scores of students staged a demonstration in Dharwad on Thursday.
Staging the demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office under the aegis of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP), the students said that they welcome the move to restart offline classes. However, the authorities have failed to ensure the required bus services for those coming to institutions in Dharwad from villages, they said.
As classes are being held in different sessions, there is a need to run bus services to suit the requirements of students. However, even those services that were suspended during the lockdown have not been resumed yet, they said.
“As schools and colleges have begun, students are finding it difficult to go to Dharwad and taluk places to attend classes. Hence, the transport corporation should run buses based on school timings,” they said.
They also pointed out the inordinate delay in the release of scholarships to students under Vidyasiri. They urged the government to immediately disburse all scholarships and also hike scholarship amount to encourage students.
ABVP office-bearers, who led the agitation, said that due to the pandemic and the unprecedented lockdown, many have either lost their jobs or have taken a cut in salary. And, to save money, they have enrolled their children in government institutions.
Nearly 15 lakh students across the State have applied for government hostel facilities where as the hostels can accommodate only 2.50 lakh students. The government should immediately open new hostels by taking private buildings on rent to accommodate rural students, they urged. They later submitted a memorandum to the district authorities addressed to the Chief Minister.
