Guwahati, Dec 15: Students of Tezpur University on Monday staged a nine-hour hunger strike, demanding the immediate removal of Vice Chancellor Professor Shambhu Nath Singh.
The students announced that all academic and administrative activities would remain boycotted until the Union Ministry of Education (MoE) issues a formal resolution addressing their demands.
The escalation follows a series of peaceful protests which, the students allege, have failed to elicit any concrete response from the Ministry.
“We demand the immediate removal of VC Shambhu Nath Singh. Our protest will continue until he is removed. Academic normalcy cannot be restored without clear and transparent intervention from the Ministry to protect the integrity of the institution,” a student said.
The ongoing agitation has severely disrupted teaching, examinations and administrative functioning on the campus.
A senior MoE delegation, led by Secretary Vineet Joshi, visited the university on December 6 but was unable to leave the campus for several hours after students blocked the main gate. The delegation was finally allowed to depart around midnight following a handwritten assurance by Saumya Gupta, Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, stating that Singh would not be allowed to perform any official duties pending an inquiry.
