New Delhi: Students from Delhi University staged a protest on Friday, March 20, after students from the School of Open Learning (SOL) were allegedly excluded from a university job fair.
The University issued a notice that allegedly stated that only University regular undergraduates, postgraduates, PhD scholars, and alumni were eligible for the job fair, excluding SOL students.
Students of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Krantikari Yuva Sangathan staged a protest at the job fair venue and outside of the Office of the Dean of Students’ Welfare, demanding equal rights for the SOL students as well.
The students called the action blatantly discriminatory towards SOL students and also claimed that it reflected a broader pattern of marginalisation of SOL students in involvement in University programmes and opportunities.
ABVP representatives submitted a memorandum to the Dean of Students’ Welfare office, seeking an immediate intervention in the matter, as SOL students are also an integral part of the University and deserve equal rights.
Amid the ruckus, SOL Principal and DSW Dean Prof. Ranjan Tripathi intervened in the protest and discussed the matter with the representatives of ABVP and KYS. Ultimately, with mounting pressure, the officials reversed their decision to exclude SOL students from the University programme and also assured students that such things would not happen in the future.
The Student Unions see these developments as a victory after the administration reversed its decision. Both ABVP and KYS confirmed that they will monitor the situation and will regularly address the inequalities faced by SOL students within the University norms.