The stalemate at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) at Basar in Nirmal district continued as about 6,000 students of the college staged a protest in support of their demands for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. The management, led by Board of Intermediate Education Secretary A. Ashok, who is in-charge Vice-Chancellor of the RGUKT, issued-out pass to students and asked them to vacate hostels in view of the indefinite holidays declared by the college.
Earlier, the management had orally agreed to concede the demands but did not execute a written assurance as demanded by students. The management agreed to provide dinner in the mess which, it maintained, would be closed from Wednesday morning.
The students went hungry owing to closure of the mess earlier in the day, with some of them reporting discomfort during dharna.
The Vice-Chancellor and the Nirmal Joint Collector, Mr A. Bhaskar Rao, held talks with the students in the afternoon. Following this, the Joint Collector left the place and most of the police force was withdrawn while Mr. Ashok went to his office and stayed there till late in the evening.
Among the 18 demands of the students were appointment of a regular Vice-Chancellor, who would administer from the campus, and a change in syllabus on a par with prestigious institutions like IIT Madras.
Unrest among students surfaced after a second year student had committed suicide on the campus on September 22. Gauging the mood of the students, the management declared holidays and issued notice for closure of the mess.