Kerala: Student refugees' stay in classrooms

KOZHIKODE: The students of Central University of Kerala (CUK)  at Periye here  on Tuesday launched a novel protest, ‘Student Refugee Movement,’  demanding  adequate accommodation facilities on the campus. They have decided  not to go back to   hostels  and stay back in the classrooms from Tuesday night onwards. The girl students stayed back in their respective departments on the three campuses of the varsity- Kasargod and Padannakkadu apart from the main campus at Periye-- on Tuesday night. The students of Kuniya campus also joined  others on the Periye campus. 

Nearly 100 students at  Padannakkadu   and  80 at Kasargod  are participating in the protest. They have also informed Kasargod MP P. Karunakaran about the issue. The university had  recently increased the number of seats in various courses without ensuring enough hostel facilities for the new students.  The university also refused to heed the students who brought up the issue even before the admission process started.   The students alleged that Vice-Chancellor Dr G. Gopakumar  met them only after they protested  in front of his chamber. Dr Gopakumar refused to meet the parents  over the issue though they were made to wait for hours on Friday, causing chaos in the office.

Students’ representative Visakh Viswambaran told DC  that  the V-C had  taken a negative attitude to their demands.  “The governing council decided to increase the number of seats without ensuring proper accommodation.  They have the responsibility to arrange  facilities to  the students. Finding private hostels and houses in a place  like Periye is difficult and  those from backward families cannot afford it,”   he added.     The university had  earlier directed  the students who hail from nearby areas to vacate the hostels, but had to call off the move when they went on an agitation. The V-C and the dean were unavailable for comments.