Students or slaves?

For students in the city who were excited about graduating from school to college in the hope of tasting “freedom”, the recent incident in Guru Nanak Engineering College where 150 students were locked up by the management for protesting against lack of power in their hostel, came as a rude shock. And these incidents are not just “one-off”, say students who are learning the hard way.

From frisking to checking bags, reading their SMSes and spying on them, college students allege that the managements are doing everything to “make life hell” for them. And since there’s no exclusive law to prevent corporal punishment and protect the rights of students, there’s no stopping this “tyranny”.

Preeti Rao, an ex student of Sri Chaitanya, says, “I scored low in my weekly tests conducted in the college. My class in-charge claimed I fared badly because I went for a movie with my friends. I was shocked to know the college had a spy snooping around!”

Detention, beating up, mental harassment, spying or causing damage to the image of the person are considered illegal under the Indian Penal code, reveals P. Subash, advocate of the AP High court. “Students can file a complaint at the police station or at the university under the state education act.”

going by the rise in cases of student harassment, however, most instances go unreported. S. Sruthi, a student says, “Once, a couple of us were late to college and the warden made all of us stand in the line. They beat the guys with a cane. It was terrifying. Fortunately, they spared the girls. Ever since, I hate my college and I only associate it with bad memories.”

If that wasn’t enough, there are college managements that threaten to hold back hall tickets to students if they fail to rise up to their expectations and others who beat them up, give impositions, bully them and threaten to talk to their parents. Being asked to kneel down, stand up on the bench and not being permitted to go home till late in the evening are other humiliations suffered by students in the city.

Strangely, officials from the board of Intermediate education downplay the ill treatment meted out to the students in certain colleges and claim that “it is the student’s choice to join such colleges”. G Balaramaiah, secretary, Board of Intermediate education, says, “No corporal punishment in colleges has come to my notice. And if it’s true, why do parents and students still join such colleges.”

However, the vice-chancellors of the universities and officials from the education department claim that students can always approach the police if they are beaten up. Conversely, if the students are found to have caused damage to the property in the college, the management can lodge a complaint with the police, but they cannot take law into their own hands. Prof D.N. Reddy, vice-chancellor of JNTU say, “Under no circumstance can they be prevented from appearing for their exams. It is illegal to lock them up, beat them, harass them or punish them. students can bring it to the notice of the university or local police.”