‘No dress code and ban on phones in lecture halls’

Ludhiana: In a relief to the students of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), it has been announced that there will be no imposition of dress code and no ban on carrying mobile phones in lecture halls. 10 student representatives attended a meeting with authorities which included deans of all colleges on Thursday.
More than 500 students were earlier protesting outside Thapar hall during the day. 10 of them were called in for a meeting with the authorities which ended at 2.30pm.

As per the discussions in the meeting, the officials also agreed upon opening parking space for two-wheelers outside Nescafe kiosk, but the issue of car ban remained constant.

Karanvir Singh Sandhu, a PhD scholar and one of the student representatives, said, “They refuted the entry of students’ four-wheelers and private cabs. We want that there should be no partiality and all should be made to follow the same rule.”

The student representatives were called in again at 4pm following which issues like fee hike and VIP culture were discussed.

A girl on the basis of anonymity highlighting the issue of scholarship said, “We pay so much and scholarships given are way too less.”

Students will continue the strike by gathering at the Nescafe kiosk till their other demands are met.

Surinder Singh Kukal, dean of College of Agriculture and College of Basic Science, said, “Most of the issues have been resolved. We will discuss other issues in a meeting to be held tomorrow.”

Estate officer, Vishvajit Singh Hans, said, “We got to know from newspapers that they (students) had misunderstandings on the dress code issue. Also with the installation of mini gates, they will be facilitated with parking. We will develop the mechanism to allow parents, if they are on four-wheelers. We will issue photo ID card or a pass so that parents do no face any hassle while entering the campus.”