AMU clarifies its stand on disciplinary action on students and ex-students

ALIGARH : Taking strong cognizance of some media reports pertaining to the ruckus caused by some disgruntled elements in the evening of November 21 at the Registrar’s office, the Aligarh Muslim University has clarified that the action to debar 3 ex-students from future admissions and to suspend 6 students pending enquiry has evoked quite different reactions in a section of media which are not only misleading but are also not based on facts.

Contrary to the charge of some ex-students about the inaccessibility of the Vice Chancellor, top university functionaries, including the Vice Chancellor and Registrar, besides Proctor and the Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW), have had several rounds of meeting with the students to address their genuine grievances within the framework of the university rules.

The main issue which turned out to lead to an ugly incident of attack on the Vice Chancellor’s vehicle, pertained to the shortage of attendance, rather than the demand for election to AMU Students’ Union as reported in a section of media.

Most of the students, who were involved in instigating other students and taking law in their hands, against whom the University decided to proceed with the disciplinary action, are in shortage of required percentage of attendance, despite the fact that right from the beginning of the session, the importance of attendance has repeatedly been emphasized by the University through circulars to the Deans of Faculties and Chairpersons of the Departments of Study. A recent notice issued by the Controller of Examination, dated November 14, 2024, further emphasized the necessity of 75% attendance and asked the Deans of various faculties to get the lists of detainees displayed on the notice board.

The decision of the university to suspend and debar some students from taking admission to any course in the university until next five academic sessions, was necessitated because of the serious threat caused to the security of the Vice Chancellor and other university functionaries, which originated with the gherao of the Vice Chancellor’s lodge a day before and culminated in students using offensive language and attacking the Vice Chancellor’s car while she was in the car.

The university understands that the ruckus caused by these students was intended to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the university and derail its progress. With the end of the semester approaching and the semester end examinations beginning at different faculties, the University is committed to maintain the law and order on the campus and no one can be allowed to cause harm to the career of other serious students who are preparing for their examinations.

Meanwhile, the University has also clarified that a notice shared on social media, allowing students to appear in the examination irrespective of their attendance, is fake. No such notice has been issued by the Controller of Examination.