Kolkata: JU first-year students lock V-C’s office over hostel curfew
Kolkata: First-year undergraduate students at Jadavpur University (JU) staged a protest on Thursday night, locking the vice-chancellor’s (V-C) office in response to strict hostel curfew rules, demanding greater freedom. The lock was removed by university staff on Friday morning.
The agitation began after students alleged that they were being forced to comply with stringent hostel curfews, with hostel gates being locked at 10 pm.
Protesters demanded unrestricted entry and exit, free access between hostels, and permission to use hostel rooftops at all hours. They also raised concerns about hostel infrastructure. The students rallied to the V-C’s office on Thursday and subsequently locked it. Some students also alleged that a rooftop gate of one of the first-year hostels had been broken open at night.
Responding to the demands on Friday, Bhaskar Gupta, the officiating V-C of JU, firmly stated the university’s position. “Their demands are unreasonable. While issues related to essential infrastructure such as water, electricity, and fans are reasonable to some extent, the demand to permit entry and exit after 10 pm is not. I have made it clear that this cannot happen,” said Gupta.
He added that the relevant committee had suggested extending the curfew to 11 pm. However, no formal decision had been taken yet.
Despite multiple rounds of discussions between student representatives and the V-C on Friday, the protest continued.
Sources indicated that a meeting could be held on Monday, but only grievances related to hostel infrastructure would be considered.
In August 2023, a first-year student from Nadia died as a result of ragging at a Jadavpur University (JU) Main hostel. Following this incident, first-year students were accommodated in the Old PG and New Block hostels within the campus, in compliance with University Grants Committee (UGC) guidelines.
A university official clarified that acceding to the students’ demands would constitute a violation of UGC regulations.
