Day 3 Of NLU Ranchi Protests: Students Sleep On The Road Demanding Removal Of VC And Overhaul Of Administration

Established in 2010, the National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi was built for a fortune of Rs 85 crore. However, the university currently owes Rs 42 crore to the Central Public Works Department in Ranchi and faces the prospect of being taken into arbitration.

NUSRL’s financial crunch began in 2014, and more than two years later, the situation has barely changed. Vice-Chancellor Dr. BC Nirmal revealed that the university is in no position to pay the amount.

This is not the first time that flawed management has adversely affected NUSRL. In 2015, the students wrote a letter to the then Chief Minister, bringing his attention to the scathing state of affairs at the university.

None of the three-storey buildings in the campus have an elevator for the physically handicapped students or visitors. Additionally, the 63-acre premises does not have a single metaled road.

The students have been protesting since Monday against the management’s incapacity to provide basic amenities in the most expensive NLU in the country.

The Students United in their protest against corruption and maladministration.@PMOIndia @timesofindia @TimesNow #saveNUSRL #occupyNUSRL pic.twitter.com/gvOX8WmvmF

— Voice of NUSRL (@Voice_of_NUSRL) April 10, 2017

NUSRL students on indefinite protest till Uni meets demands.@timesofindia @PTI_News @ANI_news #savenusrl #occupynusrl #jharkhand #ranchi

— Voice of NUSRL (@Voice_of_NUSRL) April 10, 2017

They are trying to scare us off!
We aren't leaving until our demands are fulfilled!@dasraghubar @PMOIndia @htTweets @TimesNow #savenusrl pic.twitter.com/kRK0bMNpaY

— Siddhant Rajak (@SiddhantRajak) April 10, 2017

The Logical Indian spoke to a student of NUSRL who revealed to us the poor standard of both academic and non-academic facilities in the university:

Apart from the VC, none of the faculty members hold the rank of a professor. The university provides poor internet services to its students, while the mess food is unhealthy and unhygienic.

Furthermore, sewage drains are uncovered, the campus is infested with about 50 stray dogs, and mosquitoes, snakes, and rodents are a common sight on the university premises.

The administrative block is inaccessible till noon as office bearers, including the VC, arrive late. Only the fourth-grade staff members give biometric attendance, while the practice is not followed by other teaching and non-teaching staff.

Several members of the teaching staff have taken up Ph.D. courses in the university, often citing it as a reason to skip classes. Some of the teaching faculty also hold administrative posts (Dean Student Welfare, Registrar, Dean Academics and Controller of Examination), and cite administrative workload for not doing justice to their allotted subjects.

The students are fined for almost anything, giving future lawyers the illusion that their pockets can bail them out of any misdemeanor, added the NUSRL student.

Apart from nepotism in appointments, there is also bias in the appointment of faculty on the basis of the regions they hail from.

The caretaker of the boy’s hostel lives outside the premises of the university and is available from 10 AM to 5 PM only – a time when most of the hostel residents are in the academic block.

Due to such incapacities and a lack of willingness of the university management to overhaul its state of affairs, over 500 students of NUSRL have been sleeping on the road outside the university premises since the last three days.

The demands of the students are as follows:

• The complete Administrative overhaul, including the resignation or removal of Vice-Chancellor and Registrar from their posts owing to gross negligence, mismanagement and allegation of corruption. An experienced and competent administrator be appointed on a temporary basis till an able Vice-Chancellor and Registrar is appointed with the consensus of all stakeholders.
• Being an Autonomous University, created by the Act of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, the financial records of the University be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any other unbiased external authority.
• The annual Audit reports of the Accounts of the University, which is to be prepared by it under Sections 24 (ii) and (iii) of NUSRL Act, 2010, should be immediately published.
• The release of funds by the State Government for the payment of dues to the Central Public Works Department and the completion of the proposed master plan of the University under Entry 23(1) (a) in Schedule of NUSRL Act, 2010.
• A Review Commission be appointed by the Chancellor of the University as under Section 23(1) of the NUSRL Act, 2010.

The above demands have been addressed to the Minister of Human Resources and Development- Prakash Javadekar, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Of Jharkhand Raghubar Das and Prime Minister Office of India.

Three judges visited the university premises today morning to address the grievances of the students. However, the students demand the CM himself visits. Another student of NUSRL told The Logical Indian that the students have offered concrete solutions to the management and expect complete overhaul of the university administration. They also made a press release in this regard.

The Logical Indian Take

An NUSRL student approximately pays Rs 1,90,000 in tuition fees for two semesters – making it the most expensive NLU in the country. Established with immense fanfare in 2010, the university has failed to live up to the expectations of young law aspirants.

The current state of affairs has put the campus in complete lockdown with the students permitting only domestic workers, bank employees, and customers to enter the premises. Since 8 am on Monday, the students have been vehemently demanding the release of state funds and a complete overhaul of the administration.

Faulty management and little response from the government have hampered the students’ education. Basic amenities are the right of each student of NUSRL. It is essential that the state intervenes into the matter and reaches to a consensus with the students.