Hyderabad Varsity Denies Admit Cards, Students Say 'Witch-hunting' Over Rohith Vemula Protests

Hyderabad: Two former students of English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad have alleged that they have been denied hall tickets to appear for the PhD entrance exam.

The students have claimed that this is nothing but ‘witch-hunting’ by the university administration. Some of these students were active participants in the protests following Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula’s death in 2015.

Abdul Jabbar C, who hails from Kerala and had applied for PhD at the Department of Comparative Literature, says he is unable to download the hall ticket with only two days left for the exam.

The EFLU administration said that it is EFLU Proctor, Prakash Kona’s decision not to issue hall tickets to five students, including Abdul Jabbar.

“When I contacted the office of controller of examinations, they informed me that it is the proctor’s order to not issue hall tickets to five students, including me, this is a clear case of witch-hunting by the EFLU administration,” says Jabbar, who took part in the students’ movements following Vemula’s death.

“Denying hall tickets is a kind of discriminatory practice EFLU has been meting out to students who are politically active and especially those who come from the marginalised section,” says Jabbar, who has an MA degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from EFLU.

Another student who had applied for a PhD course in Indian and World Literature said that she, too, has been unable to download the hall ticket. The entrance examination is scheduled to be held on February 24.

The proctor’s office could not be reached for a comment.

This is not the first time that the university has landed in controversy for denying hall tickets to students who are politically active. Last year, Kavyashree Raghunath and Manasi MS, members of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) at University of Hyderabad, were denied hall tickets by EFLU for allegedly participating in protests surrounding the death of Rohith Vemula. They were later allowed to sit for the examination after a massive outrage by students and activists.