BJP govt’s campus swap sees nervous students dropping out, faculty helpless

The decision by the BJP government to swap the buildings of the MLB college with that of Hamidia—because of ‘‘harassment of students of the girls college in the old city area’’—has created chaos and ended at least some careers.

Anxiety is written all over Tarannum’s face—after all, it was she who fought her parents’ objections to send her younger sister Nuzhat to the MLB Girls College. But the government’s decision to swap the buildings of MLB with the Hamidia college, about four km away, has put a question mark over Nuzhat’s career.

‘‘After completing my studies from this college, I had managed to convince my parents to send Nuzhat here. But now my father has refused permission to Nuzhat to attend the college at the new premises,’’ says Tarannum. Nuzhat, a second year BA student, knows what it means. ‘‘My career will be finished,’’ she says.

The students are angry over the government’s rationale that increased incidents of ‘‘eve-teasing’’ had triggered the decision. ‘‘I passed out recently and all through the three years, I have never faced any harassment in the area. The decision is more political than anything else,’’ says Aparna Vishnoi, former secretary of the MLB college students’ union.

Agrees MA previous student Rabia: ‘‘This college has been in existence for 50 years and has been one of the most protected campuses in the entire city. The claim that girls are being lured is rubbish,’’ she fumes. Even Rabia faces a serious roadblock. ‘‘My father doesn’t want to risk sending me to the new premise.’’

Social activists say that it would be a big blow to the efforts of many Muslim girls to break their families’ conservative mindset. ‘‘In the initial years, the girls from the Muslim community stayed away. But with a gradual change in mindset and the strategic location of the college, more and more girls were joining in. It will be a tragedy if these girls drop out,’’ says Abdul Jabbar, a social activist.

Meanwhile, it’s midnight madness at the campus. The MLB Girls College has a science faculty while the Hamidia college doesn’t have one. So the equipment at the science laboratory at the old MLB campus have been packed but officials are waiting for a lab to be built at Hamidia.

Incidentally, the college had recently spent about Rs 35 lakh on upgradation of the laboratory and renovation of the building. ‘‘All this is down the drain. Now the government will spend more on setting up the same facility at the new premises. It’s atrocious,’’ said a senior faculty member.

There was confusion at both MLB and Hamidia on Tuesday as students came to collect admission forms. ‘‘When I arrived at the Hamidia college, I was stopped by the guard saying that it was MLB Girls College now and the premise has been shifted,’’ says Gaurav as he leaves in a hurry to look for the new address.

Principal of the Hamidia college, Dr Vijay Tiwari, seems to be unfazed by the protests. ‘‘Infrastructure-wise, the new premise is ideally suited for the college. Some adjustments have to be made at a psychological level but I think there would be no big problem in shifting,’’ he said. Dr Pushpa Tyagi, principal of the MLB college, was not available for comments.