Christ University Students Protest Promotion Policy At Ghaziabad Campus Over Backlogs Blocking Fourth-Year Promotion

About 20 people, including students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), gathered outside the Mariam Nagar campus on Saturday to protest the university's promotion policy, escalating tensions at Christ University's Ghaziabad campus for the second consecutive day. The demonstration started on Friday after backlogs prevented 13 students from being promoted to their fourth year.

According to reports, Christ University has filed a complaint with the Ghaziabad Police against ABVP members who have been protesting outside its campus, despite the university's announcement that a memorandum submitted by the affected students will be presented before its Examination Committee on Monday for consideration. The Ghaziabad Police Commissionerate has acknowledged the complaint.

Protesters dispersed amid police deployment

Amid police deployment on Saturday, the demonstrators burned an effigy and shouted slogans outside the college. After a while, the students and ABVP members, who said they were speaking on behalf of the families of the affected students, were dispersed, according to the officers. No one was hurt, and there was no violent altercation.

Due to backlogs from the first or second year, about 13 students in the School of Law's BA LLB programme at the Ghaziabad campus will not be promoted after completing their third year.

The management stated that although the institution had updated its promotion policy for other courses in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP), the School of Law's policy remained unchanged because it is subject to Bar Council of India norms.

Students face promotion rules for advancing to next year

According to officials, students must "successfully complete" all first-year courses in order to advance to the third year, and all first- and second-year courses in order to advance to the fourth year.

Unless otherwise stipulated by programme requirements, students must have passed at least 50% of the total number of courses, including practical courses, from the cumulative semesters of the previous academic years in order to be promoted to subsequent semesters.

The previous restrictions on promoting third-year UG students with first-year backlogs were lifted by the university's March 25 amendment, while the other promotion standards remained in place. However, because the amendment only applied to undergraduate programmes covered by the NEP, law students were left out.

Tanishq Shishodia, the media coordinator for ABVP in Ghaziabad, stated that one of the causes of student backlogs was a lack of attendance. 

“Detention is a regular issue on this campus. They take hefty fines for attendance shortages and allow students to appear for examinations, but for those who aren’t able to pay those who suffer and are not promoted,” he claimed.

Student alleges promotion rule adds year to law course

One of the four affected students demonstrating in front of the college, Anishka Joshi, claimed that the regulation had essentially added a year to her five-year law course. 

“Pursuing law itself is a five-year process, which this has made into a six-year strenuous task. When my father raised the issue with the administration, members responded by making what I felt were casual remarks about suicide,” she alleged.

The student contended that legal education functions outside the NEP framework and questioned the policy's relevance to law students.