Student groups demand reopening of Jamia Millia Islamia campus

However, student groups like the All India Students’ Association, Campus Front of India, Students’ Islamic Organisation, Students’ Federation of India and others have demanded the campus to be reopened at the earliest.

“For almost two years since the establishment of a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the students have been facing serious problems due to the closure of the school, college, and university campuses. At a point in time, it was necessary to close all campuses due to the increasing Covid cases and health issues. But now, the situation has totally changed. Most of the institutions, public places, etc have already opened and with adequate sanitization and social distancing, people have started using all the public facilities. But, still, the campuses are not yet open,” they said in a joint statement.

The organisations said a representation of students went to meet the proctor about the issue but got the impression that “there is not much possibility of reopening”.

“AC (Academic Council) and EC (Executive Council) meetings were held 4-5 days ago but its minutes are not yet released. In this situation, students are facing uncertainty related to the reopening of the campus. We have already seen the grievances students faced due to the ever-increasing digital divide and relentless natural calamities, that went in parallel with the pandemic (sic). Many students who want to access libraries and practical equipment are not yet given access to them. Without these kinds of necessary facilities, how can we call this university education?” they said.

“There is no security issue as vaccination drives are going on. International institutions like UNICEF have already said that there is no point in keeping campuses closed. With adequate precautions, re-opening Jamia Millia Islamia is the only solution in front of us. Without re-opening, the education system will deteriorate further. So, we demand the university authorities re-open the University campus immediately,” they added.