Kolkata, Nov. 6 -- The SRFTI has extended the suspension of academic activities and hostel mess services till December 11, amid continuing campus unrest and fresh allegations by the students' union that faculty members and resource persons have faced action for supporting the ongoing student protest.
The institute had earlier suspended academic activities till November 13 and directed students to vacate hostels and other spaces within 24 hours. The latest order, issued on November 5 in continuation of the October 16 directive, extends the suspension by nearly a month. Regular academic activities of the Film Wing and the Electronic and Digital Media (EDM) Wing, along with hostel mess services, will remain suspended till December 11. The earlier directions will also remain in force.
SRFTI Registrar Deepak Kumar said the situation was reviewed in consultation with the deans of both wings.
"While the faculty and administration are fully prepared to resume academic activities, a section of students continues to indulge in blatant indiscipline and violate the Institute's orders and academic bye-laws. Despite repeated efforts to restore normalcy, they continue to disrupt the campus environment and discourage other students from attending classes.
Under such circumstances, it would not be possible to run the Institute's academic activities in a normal manner. The Institute cannot allow such indiscipline to prevail... Accordingly, it was decided to extend the suspension until December 11," Kumar said.
In a statement, the SRFTI Students' Union alleged that the administration had terminated the contracts of two contractual faculty members, discontinued the services of several resource persons and issued a show-cause notice to another faculty member. Describing the actions as an attempt to penalise those supporting the agitation, the union said the faculty members' "only apparent offence is standing beside their students".
Responding to the allegations, Kumar said decisions regarding contractual faculty members were taken in accordance with their terms of engagement and institutional rules.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.