BHUBANESWAR: Facing opposition from students for his order on new rules of discipline, the Vice-Chancellor of Ravenshaw University Sanjay Kumar Nayak withdrew the order within hours of issuing it.
On October 20, the university issued The Ravenshaw University Students Discipline and Conduct Rules to regulate and enforce discipline among the students.
The rules made students liable for punishment if they indulged in demonstrations, dharnas, hunger strikes on the campus; used mobile phones in class, library; damaged and defaced university property; did audio or video recording in the classroom or anywhere in the campus; eve-teasing; unauthorised occupation of hostel rooms; gambling on the campus; consuming liquor or drugs, among other activities.
The punishment was either fine, detention in class, rustication or expulsion from the department. The rules further stated that hostel boarders cannot keep motorcycles/scooters on the campus and they were asked to sign an undertaking stating that they will not keep or use motorcycles inside the hostel and university premises.
This, however, did not go down well with the students who took up the matter with Cuttack-Choudwar MLA Souvik Biswal. A few hours later, the university withdrew the order on the new rules till further orders. Efforts to contact the Vice-Chancellor did not yield any response.
A section of students, requesting anonymity, said the rules are arbitrary in nature and would only lead to discontent among the students community. “One cannot ask anyone to not use mobile phones on campus or curtail his or her right to protest in a free society. There are other ways to instill discipline on campus,” said a student.