Chandigarh, November 15: Panjab University is facing renewed turmoil as students of the Panjab University Bachao Morcha announced on Friday that they will boycott semester examinations starting November 18. The move comes after the three-day ultimatum for the declaration of the senate election schedule expired without response from the administration.
“We will not let any examination take place on campus. We are prepared to go to any extent to ensure conduct of the Senate election schedule,” said Student Front leader Raman. SOPU leader Avtar Singh accused the administration of ignoring student demands for over a year, saying, “We were left with no choice but to enforce this boycott, because the authorities left us unheard.”
A five-member committee formed to mediate with the students held two meetings on Friday but could not break the stalemate. Vishal Sharma, a member of the committee from the Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology, said, “We asked the students to wait till November 25 for the senate election schedule, because disruption of examinations is a serious issue affecting the academic future of thousands. We are still hoping for them to retract their call.”
The boycott could impact nearly 15,000 students on campus. The protesters did not clarify whether the call would include PU-affiliated colleges in Chandigarh or across Punjab. Earlier, the Morcha had also hinted at a possible shutdown of the university administration block.
