Students stage dharna on PTU campus

The students of third semester of various engineering courses have been on strike for the past two weeks protesting against the CPAM rule.

The students from the engineering colleges of Gurdaspur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Mohali and Ludhiana had come in bus loads to the PTU campus today to demand abolition of the rule.

The university has already waived off the 50 per cent criteria for promotion to next semester in case of third semester students for this year. However, the students are adamant for total abolition of the rule.

The university officials say the matter would be referred to the university’s Academic Council for scrapping the rule.

Ferozepore: The indefinite strike by 240 students of third semester of local Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Government Engineering College entered third week today.

During an interaction with more than a dozen striking students last evening, they said that out of four demands their major demand was abolition of the condition of minimum 50 per cent cumulative marks to pass the first semester and there should be no reversal for 1997-batch students because the Punjab Technical University brochure did not list this condition when applied for admission. They also demanding that reversal criterion should be based on clearing of minimum 24 credits.

Students leaders also demanded induction of a provision for re-evaluation in university rules and also demanded that the rule which gave powers to the university to declare any student Not Fit for Technical Education (NFTE) be scrapped.

Students said that despite assurance extended by the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court in Lok Adalalt held on September 12 at PTU Jalandhar, a meeting on September 15 was held at PTU Jalandhar in which principals of eight engineering colleges and students representatives took part. But no tangible result could be achieved as PTU vice-chancellor failed to attend the meeting. The VC on September 19 in a press statement had said that (CPAM) cumulative per centage average marks condition would be kept in abeyance for one year which was not acceptable to students.