New Delhi: There is uncertainty over when Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), both of which were closed mid-December after violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), will resume their academic sessions.
Both central universities, which had announced premature winter breaks after a series of violent protests against the CAA, were to reopen on 5 January.
While AMU has decided to keep the college closed, for now, Jamia will allow students to return on 6 January but is yet to decide on the schedule of exams that had been postponed.
On Wednesday, the AMU administration issued a circular stating that a meeting was held under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and it has been decided that the university will remain closed for now.
“In the meeting, it has been decided that under the prevailing circumstances the University will not be reopened after the conclusion of winter break on January 6,” the circular reads.
It further states that apart from the rescheduling of examinations that could not be conducted in December, “all other decisions like the initiation of next session and programme of summer break will be released in sequential order”.
The circular also says that outstation students should not return and according to the rules, the hostels will be reopened only after the commencement of the session.
ThePrint contacted V-C Mansoor on the phone regarding the circular but he refused to comment.
An AMU official, on the condition of anonymity, said the administration had taken into account the security risk.
“Students from across the country, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, come here for studies and under the prevailing conditions of UP we cannot take a risk on their security,” the official said.
Also read: AMU students invite cops for iftar after daylong fast for victims of CAA protest violence
Jamia issues update on examination but then deletes it
Authorities at Jamia Millia Islamia had also uploaded a similar notice on their website stating that examinations scheduled to start from 6 January were being postponed. The update on the university’s website, however, was later deleted.
Jamia’s Proctor Wasim Qasim told ThePrint that while students can return to the campus from 6 January onwards, no dates for examinations have been fixed until now.
The Print contacted the Jamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar through phone calls, messages and e-mails regarding the deleted update but received no response.
Jamia’s Registrar A.P. Siddiqui told ThePrint that the date of examinations are yet to be decided as the new examination controller assumed charge only on 1 January. He didn’t respond to questions on the deleted update.
Students too told ThePrint that they saw the update but it was deleted before they could contact the university administration.
“Students are still in the process of recovering from the 15 December violence. Under such a situation, examination updates like this creates uncertainty among them,” said Sufara, who is doing her M. Phil from Jamia.
The two campuses had seen protests against the citizenship Act turn violent. The students and administration of Jamia had alleged that in the name of taking action against the violence allegedly by some local residents, the Delhi Police had not only manhandled its students but also destroyed several areas, including the library, inside the campus.
Protests in AMU also turned violent on 15 December, with the UP government being accused of high-handedness on the campus. While the protests in Aligarh have calmed down to some extent, the protests in Jamia are still on.
Also read: Jamia clarifies no student died from injuries sustained during CAA protest violence