DU students, teachers detained over OBE, released later

New Delhi: Students of Delhi University on Monday were detained and released after a few hours by the Delhi Police as they stood protesting against the online exams (Open Books Exams) at the Arts Faculty here. About eight students and two teachers were arrested by the police, according to students who were part of the

protest. "The police told us that Section 144 has been imposed in the area and that we cannot protest. It was just a peaceful gathering and we wanted the Vice-Chancellor to hear what the students want," Sumit Kataria, president of Students' Federation of India (SFI) at DU said.

According to Kataria, the students started their protest at 1 pm outside the VC's office when the police intervened. "It was after 15-20 minutes only that the police arrived and detained a few of us. Nazma Rehmani, a professor of DU and ex-office bearer of DUTA were also among the detained. This is the price we are paying for raising our voice now," he added.

In a virtual press conference later, students raised their concerns over the online examinations stating that accessibility of technology and the internet is a huge problem for many students.

"Many of the students have left their study material in their hostel room and are 1,000 kms away from it. Also, the DU campus is not fully accessible; hence we can't get any sort of material. These are a few of the problems that the students are facing," said a DU student who added that disabled students like him can't work.