This article has been submitted by a learner at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University who is voicing the concerns and demands of the students’ protest going on in the university. The author wishes to remain anonymous.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister, referred to National Law Universities as the “islands of excellence in the sea of mediocrity.” The brainchild of Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, the NLUs were created to advance the standards of legal education in line with the expanding needs of the world and ensure the overall quality of future legal professionals.
The goal of these institutions is to create a setting where students can excel in the classroom and develop their professional, social, and ethical skills.
NLUs are meant to produce legal professionals of great acumen but the same seems to be failing in the National Law University of Haryana also known as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University established in 2012.
It took 7 years for this university to start the admission process with the first batch being admitted in the year 2019.
The ongoing protest at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University started on August 22, 2022, at around 5 PM.
We are writing this article while we sit with many who are hoping for a better future.
As Covid-19’s effects began to fade the university’s doors were opened in March 2022 to three batches, but in the initial 40 days there were no teachers for many subjects, and each batch had a total of six subjects at the time, and the classes were held only for 3 or 4 subjects only, as the protest is still in progress, one of the main demands is for the university to hire permanent and qualified, and specialised faculty in each of the subjects, but it does not seem possible after reviewing the current condition.
The university is currently without a single professor, neither permanently nor temporarily, and the few assistant professors that we do have are not qualified to teach at an NLU there is not a single permanent faculty.
Students demand that qualified individuals be appointed to permanent positions as assistant professors, associate professors, and professors in accordance with established standards of a National Law University.
The current environment is such that in classrooms, students are being threatened by some assistant professors who are on a contractual basis with harassing comments which include the threats of physical assault.
They have gone to the extent of saying “Tere daant tod dunga” and say that they do not care for this job as “yeh naukri toh shauk ki hai, yu hi chord dunga”.
Books are the building blocks for a future lawyer, but there is only room for 30 students in the university library and 70 students in the reading rooms, despite the fact that there are about 450 students enrolled overall. As a result, the library is in dire need of proper furniture, including partition-based tables and chairs. female students also face many problems, staff members of the administration unit frequently make remarks about them.
This situation crossed the saturation level when the girls’ hostel posted a notice urging “decent dressing,” but when questioned about the expectations of appropriate attire, refused to answer. The facilities are already in bad shape, and there aren’t enough hostel rooms.
Along with the lack of sanitary personnel, there are also crowded quarters that can only fit one person. When it comes to the promised gym and other facilities, nothing has been delivered. There are no sports fields, courts, facilities for running a sports committee, or sporting goods.
There is no licenced medical practitioner (MBBS doctor) on campus, no ambulance service for any late-night emergencies, and the dispensary lacks the necessary first aid supplies and medications.
Here are some of the demands of the students:
1. Permanent Faculty
- Removal of temporary, underqualified, and incompetent faculty
- Maintaining NLU standards on the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff and adherence to the BCI rules and regulations.
- Publication of faculty’s qualifications on the official website.
- Students demand the appointment of competent people on permanent posts in positions of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor according to standardized benchmarks.
2. Classes
- Reasonable timings and duration of classes.
- AC and Smart-class facilities are provided in only 02 rooms. Such facilities are demanded in more classrooms.
- The university has not organized any proper Guest lectures or seminars for the students or for research purposes for the last 06 months. Students hereby demand that guest lectures and seminars should be organized in accordance with NLU standards.
- Study tools like Lecture stands and microphones for the teachers must be provided.
3. Academic Model
- Proper teaching plan and learning mechanism.
- Inclusion of negotiation and debate-oriented approach in teaching and learning
- Issuance of readings prior to and post lectures.
- Establishment of Research centres and research projects
- The university publishes no journal or magazine. Students hereby demand provision for research journals and university magazines.
- Students demand Scholarships and fellowships on merit, social and economic basis.
4. Library
- The library should be open for access at least till 10 pm, reading room be made accessible 24*7. For this purpose, the university should look to the appointment of proper staff and hostel timings.
- We have space only for 30 students in the library and 70 students in the reading halls of the university while the strength of the university is about 450 students. Hence, proper furnishing in the library is needed with partition-based tables and chairs.
- Non-availability of any classic law books, no books or classic law journals, judgement, constitution debates Facilitation of all relevant law-related books inappropriate number
- There are no computers in the library.
- Adequate management of Computers and digital resources in the library
- Only 6 online databases have been provided to the students; Access to e-resources and research tools is demanded
5. Committees and Society
- No student-led committee is yet recognized. The recognition of such student-led committees is demanded.
- Appointment of competent convenors and experts for official committees.
- Resources and furnishing with the allotment of rooms for all official committees.
- There is no funding for committees and no provision for any financial mechanism being available.
- The university has no fest, no cultural activity and no co-curricular activities.
- Co-curricular activities like intra-university debates speeches and other activities should be necessitated.
6. Infrastructure and hostel Facilities
- Installation of Wi-Fi Services on every floor promised nothing provided and the area even lacks proper signals.
- Need for a proper laundry system.
- Lack of furniture and utensils in mess.
- Requirement of Transportation and shuttle services due to remote location for safe travel.
- The gym and facilities promised nothing provided.
- Proper sanitation facilities and cleaning.
7. Sports Facility
- Building of grounds and courts for sports
- Facilitation and functioning of the sports committee
- Availability of sports equipment
8. Medical Facility
- Need for a qualified medical professional (MBBS Doctor)
- Ambulance services
- Proper first aid and medicines in Dispensary.
9. Resignation of Registrar
The students demand the resignation of the registrar on grounds of:
- Incompetent for the position of a Registrar
- Arrogant and rude behaviour
- Red-tapism
- Biased against students
- Passes inappropriate sexist comments
10. Student Body
- Provision of Student’s Bar Council in the University
- The non-bureaucratic mechanism in conversation with the authorities, specifically the Vice-Chancellor
Parents have been contacted regarding the behaviour of girls and the rustication of boys at their respective homes in an effort to quell the protest, but we continue to stand together.
The honourable vice chancellor reiterated her earlier advice to wait in this statement. The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University students are looking forward to the chance to achieve self-actualization, but all that is asked of us is to WAIT.
The same demands were presented at the first protest held here on November 29, 2019, and up until this point, all we have done is wait.
The students will not relent until the chancellor meets with them and makes a written commitment to providing the necessary facilities within a set time frame.
Source: Lawctopus
