HYDERABAD: The University of Hyderabad has rejected allegations of moral policing levelled against it by the sections of student community and has offered to engage with stakeholders to discuss the issue of co-ed hostels.In a statement issued by UoH on Thursday, it said that the internal inquiry committee found truth in the argument put forward by a team of faculty administrators of hostels who on inspection found a women student staying unauthorised in a boy’s room. When questioned about it, a hostile group of students that had quickly gathered there switched off lights and manhandled the faculty team amidst loud threats of assault against them.
“While the girl’s stay in the room was clearly against the university rules and hostel regulations...it was the intimidatory actions of students, including verbal abuse, physical jostling, and obstruction of faculty members who were performing their official duties that attracted disciplinary action,” it stated.
The university also expressed its desire to engage with students and parents, to know if they would like to stay in a co-ed hostel. “...the university might consider creating such a space...But this is a process that cannot be taken up and completed overnight. Until then, the student community needs to avoid blatant breaking of rules,” it said.
The administration also advised the students to focus on the end-semester examination time and desist from hindering regular academic life. It also assured them that it is always open to dialogue with all student groups to improve institutional processes. Meanwhile, the student union has refuted that the university officials were manhandled by the students who were later suspended.
Calling it arbitrary, illegal and doled out sans proper investigation, the students union in a statement has called for a protest meet at the Velivada demanding the suspension handed over to 10 students, two of whom are women student, to be revoked. The decision was taken after two rounds of all-party meeting held on Thursday.
Even with semester-end examination just a week away, the turnout is expected to be good. With two officer bearers of the Students’ Federation of India among those suspended, all 200 students affiliated to SFI are most likely to turn up. “We are expecting at least 300 students to come. But with exams and the way the administration is generously suspending students, there will be some amount of apprehension,” said Vyshakh Thaliyil, a student.