New Delhi: Amid ongoing student protests, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) on Wednesday ordered shifting classes and all semester-end examinations online, effectively suspending on-campus academic activities at least until mid-January, saying the on-campus situation was “not conducive” to academic environment.
According to an office order issued Wednesday, online classes for the ongoing semester will continue until 24 November, while practical, fieldwork and project viva examinations will be held online from 25 to 30 November, followed by online theory examinations from 1 to 24 December.
The university will observe winter vacation from 25 December to 12 January, with next-semester classes scheduled to begin on 13 January 2027.
“Even semester classes shall commence w.e.f. 13th January, 2027,” says the order, without specifying if they will start in on-line or off-line mode.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer told ThePrint that amid the ongoing protests on campus, two students were detained on Wednesday.
The decision follows earlier orders issued on 24 and 26 October, which shifted classes online until 8 November and moved the second mid-semester examinations online.
The 28 October order stated that, following a meeting of the university’s deans, heads, directors and officials the same day, it was unanimously agreed that “the situation of the University Campus is not conducive for academic environment”. The decision was taken “to ensure the safety and security of bonafide students of the University”.
The development comes amid protests over demands including students’ union elections. Jamia has agreed to hold the elections after a gap of 20 years following weeks of protests and a hunger strike.
However, the administration has made the polls conditional on the approval of a new union constitution, stating that elections will be held within 15 days of its approval without setting a deadline for the approval itself.
A section of protesting students has rejected the university administration’s notification issued on Monday, saying their demands raised during the hunger strike remain unfulfilled. The protests have continued, with five students still on hunger strike on campus.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jamia Millia Islamia alleged that groups of protesting students and locals vandalised campus gates and walls overnight, on 27 October, bringing down Gate 4C and damaging CCTV cameras and the control room.
The university said the incident raised “grave concerns about the safety and security of students, faculty members, and non-teaching staff”. It also alleged that women faculty members, wardens and provosts were threatened when they attempted to reason with female protesters.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, protesting students said their primary demand was for the students’ union constitution to be drafted and approved by 20 December, with the election date announced within 15 days of its approval and the entire election process completed by 5 February.
They said the university administration had offered only verbal assurances on a timeline for the process, without a written commitment, and that their demand for a fixed schedule remained non-negotiable. The students said their hunger strike and sit-in would continue until their demands were met.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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