Jamia Millia Islamia students stage protest for reopening of campus and resumption of physical classes

Many students from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) have staged a protest right outside the campus in Delhi, demanding the reopening of the university campus and the resumption of physical classes, as the university is still closed due to the pandemic situation.

JMI has been closed since Mach 2020 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the protests of students, the varsity administration maintained that a decision in this regard will be taken by the Executive Council (EC) after consultations with all stakeholders.

Students protesting outside the campus raised slogans demanding that the authorities proceed with the phase-wise reopening of the university, similar to the reopening of Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

A larger group of students from the university had staged a protest last week questioning the university’s decision to keep the campus shut for students when other educational institutions were reopening with Covid-19 protocols.

While talking



about the events of yesterday, a senior Delhi Police official said a group of around 20 students gathered outside the JMI campus demanding the reopening of the varsity and the resumption of the offline classes for students.

“They wanted the university administration to resume classes, canteen, and library. They staged a protest and left after a while. Nobody was detained,” the official said, as per PTI reports.

According to the university spokesperson, “Views of all stakeholders, including students and parents, will be taken into consideration before a decision on reopening the campus is taken by the EC, the highest decision making body of the varsity”.

He further said, “A large number of students and parents already wrote to the university administration, saying online teaching should continue as the environment is still not conducive for offline classes considering the Covid-19 cases and discovery of the South African and Brazilian mutant strains of coronavirus in the country.”