CHENNAI: Despite assurance from Central fact finding team, students from National Institute for the Visually Challenged (NIVH), Poonamallee, continued their protest for the seventh consecutive day.
The students seeking removal of a staff who allegedly ill-treated them demand the national director’s direct intervention.
They complained that three courses - FM Broadcasting, Voice Based Advertising and Electronics Assembly - were scrapped without any prior announcement.
“K Mani, an office superintendent who has been in the college for more than two decades removed these courses without consulting us or any other staff. When we protested against this, he ill-treated us,” alleged M Arjunan, one of the trainees.
The students complained that the staff made them suffer without quality food, clean hostel toilets and aids provided under Assistance to Disabled Persons Scheme (ADIP).
When this issue was taken to the notice of the NIVH headquarters in Dehradun, the staff was temporarily transferred to Secunderabad last July. On the staff’s return since Monday, the students were on a sit-in protest demanding permanently transfer him.
Reacting to this, a two-member fact finding team - Joshi, retired director from Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) and NVIH accounts officer Pawan Sharma - arrived at the campus on Saturday.
The Regional Director (In-charge), NVIH, Kirubanandam said that he submitted all necessary documents sought by the central team and necessary action would be suggested only the national director based on the team’s report to submitted later. Some students expressed dissatisfaction over the way in which the Central team conducted the enquiry stating that they were more focussed on diverting the issue and not listening to their demands.
When Express tried to contact the team, they refused to meet.
“Prior to this protest, the office superintendent used the student emergency van for personal reasons even when someone needed it and didn’t distribute free uniforms and digital communicating devices on time,” said, Dawood Khan, another student.