Tezpur University Cancels End-Semester Exams Amid Student Protests
Students have vowed to keep the protest going until a decision is taken to remove the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Shambhu Nath Singh, and an inquiry is set up to look into the allegations against him. Amid the ongoing protests, the university administration has decided to cancel the end-of-semester examination, considering the mental health and stress-related concerns of the students.
The exams were initially scheduled to start on December 3; however, due to intensified protests, they were postponed and were about to commence on Monday. Now, a decision was made to postpone the exams scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. As the university has not issued any new date, there are speculations about whether the exams will be conducted or not.
The decision was taken during a meeting of deans, department heads, and the controller of examinations, which was conducted online on Sunday evening and included the acting VC, Prof. Dhurba Kumar Bhattacharya.
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Notably, sit-in protests continued at the university entrance on Monday, with administrative and academic buildings locked. Only emergency work is being allowed to proceed by the students.
The meeting recorded its serious concern about the mental stress and anxiety among the students amid the ongoing crisis at the university and sudden changes in the exam schedule, the notification issued by the controller of the examination. The CoE notification said that a future of action will be taken shortly.
Meanwhile, some protesting students threatened to boycott the remaining exams if the Ministry of Education did not meet their demands.
The Joint Secretary in the MoE, Saumya Gupta, informed the TU registrar in a handwritten note on Saturday night that the department of education is committed to initiating a strict and time-bound inquiry against Singh and during this period, he will not be administering the university.
