Fires over ‘jaundice cases’ still smouldering at VIT, MP govt orders review of private universities

On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, VIT students led violent protests, damaging property, over a jaundice outbreak on campus.

Students look to leave the Vellore Institute of Technology in Bhopal, a day after the violence over the jaundice outbreak | Krishan Murari | ThePrint

Sehore: Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, in response to the violent protests at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) a day ago, has issued instructions for a high-level review into the basic amenities at private universities in the state and management unresponsiveness to student complaints.

Stating that “the welfare of students and a quality education system is our topmost priority”, CM Yadav Thursday ordered the state’s Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmer to conduct the review.

“To prevent the recurrence of such incidents, instructions have also been given to the Higher Education Minister Mr. @Indersinghsjp ji to conduct a high-level review of private universities and educational institutions, identify problems related to student interests, and ensure their prompt resolution,” CM Yadav said in a post, taking cognisance of the protests. He also instructed BJP leader Krishna Gaur to visit VIT immediately to establish dialogue with students and management to ensure necessary response and measures.

His move comes after nearly 4,000 VIT students from across hostels rallied against the VIT management on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, demanding accountability over a jaundice outbreak on campus, claiming complaints of health and hygiene had been ignored. The VIT administration, though, denies student allegations of contaminated water and poor quality food, or student deaths after taking the same.

Speaking to ThePrint, university registrar K.K. Nair admitted a few cases of jaundice among students. He, however, claimed that VIT has a mechanism for regularly monitoring drinking and cooking water on campus.

Nair said, “A few weeks ago, cases came up, and we sent them to Chirayu Hospital for treatment.” He added that 11 girl students and 22 boys studying at VIT had been diagnosed with jaundice but, after treatment at Chirayu Hospital, they were released.

No student is currently at the hospital. “All’re fine now. No one is dead,” Nair emphasised, adding that “fake news” about a student’s death flared the violence.

The protests & aftermath

The Madhya Pradesh Private University Regulatory Commission has constituted a team of three senior professors to examine the reasons behind the upheaval on VIT’s campus.

Nair said the committee members arrived and checked everything Wednesday. “They talked to all the stakeholders. At this stage, we have not been told of any coercive action that’s required,” said Nair, adding that the management is also conducting an internal inquiry to find what happened.

According to the management, a video was circulating on social media Tuesday night, showing a warden assaulting students, which, allegedly, triggered the students, resulting in widespread violence. The protesters allegedly set vehicles ablaze and damaged university property, including the chancellor’s bungalow.

Late at night, when the violence broke out, the university administration called the local police to control the situation. Within an hour, the police had controlled the violence, but by then, a lot of property had been damaged.

Now, the Sehore administration is also conducting an inquiry to find the causes of the alleged jaundice outbreak and the property damage by the students.

According to Nitin Kumar Tale, the sub-divisional magistrate of the Ashta subdivision in the Sehore district, the university was not taking issues raised by the students seriously and that led to violence.

“We have collected samples from the university and are closely examining the situation,” Tale told ThePrint, while also denying the deaths due to jaundice.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)