IIIT Basara students call off protest; minister agrees to fulfill demands

The minister who initially called these demands “silly” met nearly 20 student representatives and told them about the time it will take to resolve the issues.

Students of the IIIT Basara in the Nirmal district of Telangana have finally called off their week-long protest. The protest came to rest  after state Education Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy met the students and assured them that all issues pointed out by them will be resolved. The minister met a delegation of students on the campus on Monday evening and the meeting went on past midnight following which the students called off their protest.

The minister who initially called these demands “silly” met nearly 20 student representatives and told them about the time it will take to resolve the issues. Students were also intimated that an amount of INR 5.60 crore was being immediately released to the institution to take up the work that needed attention. Students were assured that all their issues would be resolved in a time-bound manner to which they were satisfied and agreed to call the protest.

Immediate release of INR 5.6 Crore

District collector Musharraf Ali Farooqi immediately announced the release of INR 5.6 crore towards the work pending in the institute. After the education minister’s assurance, lectures resumed Tuesday as students trooped back into the classrooms after a week.

IIIT Basara also known as Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge and Technology witnessed protests by thousands of students for almost seven days, complaining about the poor quality of food and lack of basic amenities on the campus. Their protest prompted Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan to assure the students that their issues would be looked into.

Demands made by students included improvement in facilities in the hostel mess, renovation of the hostel building, more faculty etc. Students, who also blocked the administration building, demanded that a permanent vice-chancellor be appointed and he lives inside the campus. At present, IAS officer Rahul Bojja, Secretary and Commissioner of SC Development Department, holds additional charge as vice-chancellor of the university.

Apart from these demands, the students also asked for laptops and computers for those who cannot afford to purchase them. The students sent messages to Governor Soundararajan, who said last Thursday that she will request the state government to look into their problems.

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