Ghaziabad: A group of around 20 youths claiming to be ABVP members entered Christ University’s Ghaziabad campus on Friday, blocked its main entrance and staged a sit-in outside the administrative building after 13 law students were not promoted to fourth year because of backlogs.University officials alleged none of the protesters was a student and they were called by some of the debarred students to armtwist the management into making an exception to its strict attendance and promotion rules.The protesters, carrying saffron flags, raised slogans at the main administrative building and later at the gates, turning the entire campus into the centre of the standoff. Classes, however, continued and there was no disruption to academic activity, officials said. A police team of 50 personnel reached the campus as the demonstration continued through the day.Till late on Friday, talks continued with officials over the promotion of the 13 students.The dispute was against a promotion rule that allows students to continue attending classes till the third year even if they have pending papers to clear. But they cannot enter the fourth year unless all backlogs from the first three years have been settled. If a student has a third-year backlog, they remain enrolled but cannot attend classes until they pass the exam.“The 13 students who initiated the protest and called ABVP members for support have backlogs in several subjects. Some have failed in their first and second years, while some have six to eight backlogs. The university follows the same rule across all six campuses. Every student is equal for us and there is no exception,” said professor Akhilesh Tiwari, head of administration.The exams were held in May and results declared the same month. “It has been more than two months since the results came out. The students have still not taken any steps to reappear for the examinations,” a university spokesperson said.ABVP member and media coordinator Tanishq Sishodia, who was among the 20 protesting youths, accused the university of wrongdoing. “The college has introduced a new rule stating that students who fail in their first or second year will not be promoted to the final year. What happens if a student has a medical condition or faces an emergency? The university is not considering such circumstances. That is why we are protesting,” he added.ABVP district secretary Gaurav Kshatriya admitted that the students had approached the organisation, seeking its intervention. “Some students reached out to ABVP workers and told them that the university is not allowing them to attend classes for their first and second-year backlogs. We have come in support of the students. The university will have to allow them to attend classes,” he said.Kshatriya added that ABVP workers would continue their sit-in at the college gate until their demands were met.
A team of 20 cops reached the campus to maintain law and order
A third-year law student, who requested not to be identified, backed the university’s decision. “Rules should be the same for everyone. The university has done the right thing. If I had failed, I would also have had to reappear. The rule cannot be changed just because a student has political backing,” he added.In a video circulating on social media, a protester is heard telling police “goli maar do isko (shoot him)” inside the campus. It was not immediately clear who the protester was referring to. Police said they were examining the video. No FIR had been filed or arrests made till late on Friday evening.Ziauddin Ahmad, ACP (Nandgram), said, “No complaint has been made by university officials as of now. So far, we have been able to maintain law and order.”Christ’s law faculty, which started in 2019, has around 950 students across four years. Officials said the university has six campuses, and the promotion rule applies uniformly to students in all programmes.
A police team remained on the campus through the day
