Protest enters day 10, Concerns mount as 70-KStudents transferred to unrecognized colleges; J&K Students Association seeks’ Centre’s intervention
Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Sep 14:
Scores of Kashmiri students studying nursing at Desh Bhagat University (DBU), Punjab faced lathi charge as their protest entered 10th straight day against the alleged unapproved transfers of almost 70 students to unrecognised colleges by Desh Baght University (DBU).
The protesting students alleged that the decision lacks approval from the Indian Nursing Council and Punjab Nursing Registration Council without even considering their concerns.
Reliable sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the students’ future has been hanging in the balance, and due to this, they continued the peaceful protest for the 10th straight day. “However, the students were lathi charged resulting the injuries to a few,” the sources said.
A protesting student told KNO over phone that DBU has transferred approximately 70 Kashmiri students enrolled in various paramedical courses to SL Singh College, another college of DBU University Punjab, without the students’ consent. “This unilateral move by the university has been ongoing since last year when around 500 students from Jammu and Kashmir pursued various paramedical courses at DBU,” the aggrieved student said.
He said: “The students at DBU have found themselves in a situation beyond their control since, Sardar Lal Singh Memorial College, although affiliated with DBU Punjab, lacks recognition from the Indian Nursing Council (INC) and PNRC (Punjab Nursing Registration Council) as well”
Furthermore, “DBU admitted 140 students, far exceeding the approved intake capacity, which ranges from 40 to 60 students, and due to this, students are enduring immense stress and hardship, fearing that, their career prospects are unjustly jeopardized due to the university’s actions.”
Nasir Khuehami, National Convenor J&K Students Association, in a statement issued to KNO, said the Jammu and Kashmir students association has written to the union minister for health and medical education Mansukh Mandaviya, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over transfer of Kashmiri students enrolled in various paramedical courses from Desh Bhagat University (DBU) Punjab to Sardar Lal Singh College ‘without their consent.
The statement further reads, “We demanded justice for the Kashmiri students of the Faculty of Nursing at Desh Bhagat University (DBU), who find themselves embroiled in a distressing admission debacle.”
It further said that, the, nursing students at DBU have been protesting against the University administration’s arbitrary decision to transfer their admissions to a college that lacks approval from the INC (Indian Nursing Council) and PNRC (Punjab Nursing Registration Council). “These students’ futures hang in the balance. Today, while peacefully protesting, female students were subjected to a lathi charge and confined within a university building to silence their voices against this unjust decision,” it said—(KNO)