GNDU students end hunger strike after officials agree to demands

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 5

The 12-day long hunger strike by a students’ front of Guru Nanak Dev University called off their protest after the university administration agreed to the demand of reservation for border area students and reviewing fee hike in the university.

SATH, a student organisation, had been raising these demands repeatedly over the past few months, following which three students – Jaskaran Singh Zira, Gurwinder Singh and Karanvir Singh — sat on a hunger strike at the university main gates.

The reservation was abolished for students after 2017

• After the students continued their hunger strike despite meeting with VC Prof Jaspal Singh Sandhu on the fifth day of strike, the university authorities, had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on August 1, terming the dharna by students ‘illegal’.
• The reservation was abolished for students after 2017. 7% seats were reserved for rural belt students, 3% for border areas and 2% for students belonging to the 1984 riot-affected families. Since 2017, the reservation has been converted to ex-servicemen quota

Dean (Student Welfare) Prof Preet Mohinder Singh Bedi on Monday met the protesting students after they had gathered in large numbers at the university gates in the morning, following a university bandh call given by SATH and members of the United Sikh Students’ Federation. Addressing the students, he said GNDU will consider the demands of student reservation and fee hike, giving assurance in writing. “The university administration will write to the Punjab Government to seek permission to increase and reserve the seats for students from the border belt on similar grounds as being done in Punjabi University, Patiala. Moreover, the government will be asked to decide upon the request within one month to give 10 per cent additional reserved seats for rural areas. If the government does not give this approval, Guru Nanak Dev University will approve the seats by presenting this resolution in its next syndicate at its level,” said Prof Bedi.

Besides, he said a committee would be formed with the representation of students to reconsider the fee increase every year. Currently, the university raises the fee by 5 per cent for new admissions in undergraduate courses every year. Prof Bedi said the university also wants to resolve the issue, “But the onus of taking a policy decision or policy change rests with the state government. We are ready to take this up with them.”

After this, three students — Gurwinder Singh Varpal, Jaskaran Singh Zira and Karanveer Singh — ended their hunger strike and conducted a prayer ceremony. Meanwhile, the university bandh call did not have much effect on the functioning of the university as the matter was resolved between students and university management early in the day.

Jaskaran Singh Zira, who is vice-president of SATH and student of Bachelor of Social Science (2nd year), shared that now, the student organisation will put a demand before the Punjab Government that an annual grant should be given to Guru Nanak Dev University like being given to Punjabi University and the reserved admission quota, which was in place till 2017 in admissions, should be restored.