Hyderabad TISS students protest
Students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad with the support of students from Mumbai TISS, are protesting over the injustice done to them on campus. This is similar to the protests students in Mumbai TISS held over several issues since June 2017 and some were resolved in August this year. The students have taken to social media by tweeting to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) highlighting this issue.
The first issue is the TISS administration has deferred the Bachelor of Arts (BA) course suddenly. There are 60 students whose future is at risk. From next year onwards, they will not have any course here.
The second problem is TISS Hyderabad has been declared as a non-residential campus, which means, they will shut down all hostel facilities from next academic year.
Over 100 students boycotted their classes on Monday and protested on the campus with slogans, posters and banners. Students claimed slogans like ‘Respect Existence or Expect Resistance’, ‘The system has failed us’ and ‘The administration is autonomous’.
Students added they were not directly informed about these decisions but learned about it through media advertisements.
When students got to know of these decisions, they began to boycott their classes and protested on campus, while students on Mumbai campus have showed their solidarity and support.
Krishnanath C, a student said, “Over 60 students are enrolled in the BA course and suddenly the administration has decided against continuing it. It is the only Liberal Arts programme of good academic quality in the entire South India. By shutting it down, this college has put our future at stake.”
Around 300 students live in hostels on this campus. Now, with the decision to shut down the hostel facilities, students say they cannot afford to pay the rent in Hyderabad.
A student said, “We come from far-off states and many are from the rural areas. For us, staying on the TISS campus is economical. Now, if the campus becomes non-residential then we do not know where to live. We cannot afford an apartment in Hyderabad, as it is expensive.”
Students aim to continue protest peacefully till they get a satisfactory response from the administration.
Over 100 students boycotted their classes on Monday and protested on the campus with slogans, posters and banners. Students claimed slogans like ‘Respect Existence or Expect Resistance’, ‘The system has failed us’ and ‘The administration is autonomous’.