Degree, post-graduation, engineering, diploma, and pharmacy students in Karnataka boycotted their online lessons on Saturday, intensifying their agitation for exam cancellation. Students from 42 prestigious colleges, including APS College of Commerce, Atria Institute, University Vishveswaraya College of Engineering, Brindavan, and APS Polytechnic, boycotted classes. AIDSO further stated that, when smaller institutions are included, the total number of boycotted institutions exceeds 100. Students enrolled in these courses are requesting that the government cancel tests scheduled for the previous or odd semester. They also want the government to deliver two free doses of the COVID-19 vaccination to students before performing offline classes or assessments.
Students in these courses are currently in a situation where they will be required to write exams for two semesters in a very short period of time. When Karnataka went into lockdown on April 27, the odd semester exams of numerous universities were to be held, creating a problematic situation.
Because any physical examinations were ruled out due to the lockdown, classes for the following or even semester began. Following the relaxation of limitations in Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayana said that exams would be held for these pupils. He tweeted, “Semester examinations need to be performed soon, and VCs are arranging it.”
The agitation has been going on for ten days, and students have used a variety of tactics to demonstrate. They had first protested with the two requests on June 23. They sent memorandums to many parliamentarians, including Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar, after not receiving a response from the administration.
In addition, the students’ struggle committee and AIDSO hosted a webinar in which numerous educational professionals and former university vice chancellors (VC), including Dr Prabhudev (former VC of Bangalore University) and Dr Chidananda, spoke (former VC of Kuvempu University). Before performing any physical classes, all of the lecturers emphasized the need of getting all of the pupils completely vaccinated.
According to AIDSO, the online class boycott received a strong reaction in other Karnataka districts. “Colleges under the Gulbarga University, Bellary Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Dharwad University, and Bijapur University have been witness to a complete boycott of online classes,” they stated in a statement. “If the government and colleges do not respond to our demands,” the statement said.
