Taking exception to the decision of the Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) about conducting examination for intermediate and repeaters from October 5, scores of students under the aegis of National Students Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest in Hubballi on Monday.
Staging the dharna on KSLU premises at Navanagar in Hubballi, the students and NSUI office-bearers urged the vice-chancellor of the law university to promote the students of KSLU without examination as per an earlier Government Order on promoting students of intermediate semesters.
While Congress leaders Nagaraj Gouri, Deepa Gouri, Swati Malagi and others led the agitation, Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, who was in Hubballi on Monday, also joined the agitation to express solidarity with the students.
Speaking at the agitation, Mr. Nagaraj condemned the decision and said that he would stand by the students till their demand is fulfilled. Congress district unit general secretary Rajat Ullagaddimath said that the law university had failed to take the opinion of students before taking the decision. It had made the decision based on data provided by law colleges.
He said that most of the students were from rural areas who did not have proper internet bandwidth and access. He said that the university’s decision to conduct the examination was in violation of the decision taken by the State government on promoting all students of intermediate semesters pursuing various degree courses.
The protestors later submitted a memorandum urging the vice-chancellor to reconsider the decision on holding examination for intermediate students.
In the memorandum, they have mentioned that students of the university came from across the State and also from neighbouring States and they would be incovenienced as inter-State public transport still remains mostly suspended.
Most of the students who had returned home in a hurry did not have study material to prepare for the examination and private hostels and paying guest facilities were not available yet. Such being the case, asking intermediate students to appear for the examination would be nothing but injustice, they have said in the memorandum.
Meanwhile, through a press release, Vice-Chancellor P. Eshwara Bhat has clarified that KSLU came under the Bar Council of India which had asked the university to conduct the examination for intermediate semesters too.
