Mangaluru: Students Protest Against St Agnes College for Holding Semester Exams During Dasara Festival
Mangaluru: Hundreds of students staged a protest outside St Agnes College near Bendorewell in Mangaluru after the college decided to conduct undergraduate semester examinations without providing Dasara holidays. The students, backed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), boycotted the examinations and demanded that they be postponed to allow students to participate in the Mangaluru Dasara celebrations.
The semester examinations for undergraduate students have been scheduled from October 12 to 28. Students objected to the schedule, claiming that the examinations would prevent them from participating in the festivities and celebrations associated with Mangaluru Dasara.
They alleged that despite submitting a request to the college management to postpone the examinations, no action had been taken. Student organisations have also submitted a complaint to the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner over the issue.
ABVP extended its support to the protest, with student leaders from the organisation joining the demonstration. Despite the ongoing agitation, the college management reportedly proceeded with the examinations and refused to postpone them, further angering the students.
Tensions escalated when police attempted to detain and take away ABVP student leaders participating in the protest. Female students blocked the police jeep and voiced their opposition. While some staged a protest on the road, others lay down in front of the vehicle to prevent the student leaders from being taken away.
The protesting students insisted that they would not leave the spot until the detained student leaders were released. They continued their demonstration in front of the police jeep, strongly opposing the police action. Senior police officers, including a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), arrived at the scene as the situation became tense.
Following the intense protest, police moved the jeep to the side. However, the students continued their agitation outside the college gate, demanding the release of the ABVP student leaders and the postponement of the examinations.
The students expressed strong dissatisfaction with the college management’s decision to conduct examinations during the Dasara festival without providing a holiday break and reiterated their demand that the examinations be postponed.
