Protesting Students at DU College to Hold 'Footpath' Classes

NEW DELHI: Students of Delhi University's College of Art, who have been protesting since 21 days demanding better infrastructure and appointment of more staff, will hold "footpath" classes till their demands are met.

The college is funded and run by Delhi Government and is affiliated to the Delhi University. "It's been 22 days, since we have been on strike. Neither the government nor the college authorities have taken any action so far. "We have been appealing to the artist community for solidarity. The response has been affirmative. Many artists are volunteering as our Footpath Faculty and giving workshops to students outside the college campus," said Nitish Arora, a protesting student.

Another student, Pallab Bhardwaj said, "We are going to screen the video recordings of the college authorities and students' representative meeting. There is going to be a workshop by brother-artist-duo Manil Rohit and Aditi Khurana outside the college gates tomorrow." The students had last week sent a memorandum of their demands to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, seeking his intervention into the issue.

Their demands include appointment of more staff, enhancement of the infrastructure and sanitation facilities, representation of girls in sexual harassment committees, procurement of equipments and revision of the curriculum. Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) has also come out in their support today and urged the government to take note of the problems.

"With only 30 per cent regular faculty in its rolls, the college has been forced to depend on sporadic availability of casually-employed artists to run its vast array of courses. The curriculum has not been revised or updated to allow students exposure to Contemporary Art, New Media, Museology and Curating Skills, without which their career options are severely restricted," DUTA President Nandita Narain said.

"We urge the Delhi Government to take immediate stock of the deplorable situation prevailing in the college and intervene to bring about immediate relief for the suffering students. The generous allocation made for education in the budget must be reflected in concrete steps taken to restore the academic health of the college," she added.

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