The students acknowledged that the decision to remove Proctor T Samson was a result of the ongoing protest against the administration’s "incompetence".
Published Nov 08, 2023 | 3:19 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 08, 2023 | 3:22 PM
EFLU students have been on an "indefinite hunger strike" since 6 November. (Supplied)
The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad replaced T Samson with Professor T Sravani as the proctor for one year on Wednesday, 8 November.
However, a day earlier, he was appointed the dean of planning for one year. Samson is also the head of the Department of English Literature.
The announcement comes two days after the administration, in a statement, said the resignation of the Proctorial Board was “untenable”.
“Upon Samson’s request, he has been replaced by Professor Sravani as the proctor of EFLU,” a source from the EFLU administration told South First.
New Proctor T Sravani is a professor in and the head of the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies.
The students acknowledged that the university’s decision to remove Proctor Samson was a result of their ongoing protest against the administration’s “incompetence.”
They accused him of “inaction and insensitivity” due to his reference to last month’s alleged on-campus sexual assault as a “small incident” while addressing a student gathering.
The students alleged that the proctor also targeted those of them who questioned his various derelictions of duty.
EFLU students and others protesting on Monday, 6 November before at least 31 of them were detained by police. (Supplied)
“…[A]s shown in the baseless FIR filed against 11 peaceful protestors, one of whom has valid plane tickets to prove he was not even in the state at the time. The students’ distrust in the administration translated into the demand for his removal to ensure a fair investigation into the matter,” the students said in a statement.
The FIR, which was registered on 19 October at the Osmania University police station, stated that the 11 students provoked another “200” students and allegedly “promoted enmity”, “incited violence”, and abused erstwhile Samson.
Meanwhile, the students also noted that Samson’s removal from the position of proctor came in conjunction with his appointment as the dean of planning at the university.
Students said they see Samson’s removal as proctor as a “partial fulfilment” of their demands. They, however, announced that their “indefinite hunger strike” would continue until the culprits were arrested in the sexual assault incident.
One of the 11 students named in the FIR told South First, “This is a win in itself because it proves that the protests are having an impact. However, the administration has done this in a very sneaky way by saying that the appointment of Professor Srivani [as proctor] is only for one year.”
The individual added: “There was no acknowledgement of the grave mistakes made by Prof Samson and also the selective targeting of students.”
The protesting students are also demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor E Suresh Kumar as well as the remaining members of the Proctorial Board.
They also want the reconstitution of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) with elected student representatives, withdrawal of the false FIRs and show-cause notices, and immediate conduct of the Student Union elections.
In a statement released on 6 November, the EFLU administration noted that the demands of students regarding the arrest of culprits in the alleged sexual assault incident were “not in the hands of the university”.
It also claimed that the survivor of the sexual assault incident, a postgraduate student, “could not provide any clue to identify the culprits” to its ICC.
While appealing to the students to maintain restraint till the police completed their investigation, the university refuted their allegations that ICC Chairperson Anjali V Bagde also held the post of dean.
“She did not hold the post of the dean or head at the time of her appointment as the presiding officer of the ICC,” said the EFLU.
It added that the ICC was constituted entirely as per the UGC regulations, except for the three student representatives.
EFLU students protesting during “indefinite hunger strike”. (Supplied)
However, the students earlier alleged that EFLU Ordinance 66 only allowed for two student representatives, who were also chosen by the administration instead of them.
About the Student Body elections, which were scheduled for this month, the varsity said it had already issued a circular that the polling would be held after the completion of the Telangana Assembly elections on 30 November.
Responding to the allegation of the CCTVs inside the campus only working for the surveilling of students and not for their security, the varsity said students were on one hand claiming that there was no CCTV camera covering the alleged sexual assault incident spot, while on the other hand some of the them were saying that surveillance had increased on the campus.
It added that none of the students had ever been restricted from accessing any space on campus, and most of them moved around until late at night.
Reacting to the statement, a student told South First earlier on the condition of anonymity (over fear of punishment by the EFLU administration): “It is not the victim’s duty to identify the perpetrators.”
The individual added: “The fact that a student was assaulted on such a small campus with over 100 security guards and 300 cameras (in the places frequented by students and not in potentially dangerous places like the one where the assault happened) shows how the administration’s focus is on surveillance, and not the safety of the students.”
