Visva-Bharati on Thursday announced the postponement of its annual convocation, scheduled for December 11. The postponement until further notice is due to the continued unrest of some of the students near the residence of Vice Chancellor Prof. Bidyut Chakrabarty. The central university spokesperson said in a statement that authorities are compelled to take the step as the VC is “not allowed to leave his residence for more than two weeks to monitor preparations”.
“Under these circumstances, the forthcoming convocation on December 11 is postponed until further notice,” the statement said.
When contacted by PTI, the spokesperson said it was not feasible to continue preparations for the prestigious and important event at the central university as some of the students held a sit-in near the official residence of the VC.
The decision was also prompted by a gathering of some students on campus on Wednesday night, which was unruly, she said.
The students had been demonstrating about 100 meters away from the VC’s residence since Nov. 24, demanding that outstation students be given hostel rooms immediately and PhD and M Phil scholars’ dissertations be time-bound.
The VC was not allowed to leave his residence on December 6 when he was about to take the car to fulfill official responsibilities, while the protesting students sat in front of his vehicle and forced Chakraborty to return to his room.
A rally was organized on campus on Wednesday by some of the students to push for the demands, which included holding the annual ‘Poush Mela’, which could not be held for the past two years due to Covid.
Sudipta Bhattacharya, office bearer of the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association, said: “The authorities want to put the students in a bad light by announcing the postponement of the convocation, which has not even been officially notified by the central university.”
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