Chronicle Reporter, Indore
On Wednesday, chaos was created when, the fifth-semester students of New Girls Degree College discovered that their juniors were being given away free-of-cost phone before them. So they forced smartphone distributors to run away from their campus.
Under a government scheme, smartphones are to be given for free to students attending at least 75 per cent of lectures in the first year.
Students of 2015-16, who are in fifth semester currently, were to be given away smartphones for meeting the attendance condition in first year. But distributors reached the colleges with a list of 2016-17 batch students and started giving away smartphones to them.
2015-16 students expressed their displeasure over the issue. They stated that they should be provided with smartphones first. But when the principal stated that she can’t help, the students gave vent to their ire.
They disrupted the phone distribution function and forced the distributors to leave their campus.“We told them that to come back to our campus only when they have smartphones for 2015-16 batch students,” College student union secretary Urvashi Sharma said.
Indore division additional director (higher education) KN Chaturvedi said that smartphones to eligible students of 2015-16 batch were distributed in most of the colleges.
“New GDC was among the few colleges were students of 2015-16 did not get phones. We will ensure that first they get the phones and then 2016-17 batch students,” he said adding that his office would arrange smartphone for both the batches students in a day or two.
He also stated that students who could not claim his/her handset due to exam or any other reason can collect it later. No eligible student will be deprived of smartphone, he added.
