Jamia’s BE Students Demand a Full-time Status for the Course, Accuse Administration of Misleading

More than a hundred students of Bachelor of Engineering (BE) from Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) have been protesting since Monday with the demand to declare the engineering course full-time for the batches from 2014-15 to 2018-19. At least three of the students started indefinite hunger strike from Wednesday to mount pressure on the administration to accept their demands.

Jamia's engineering department runs two courses: Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in the morning and Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in the evening only. Both the courses have regular classes, but reportedly due to Jamia administration's mistake, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has not approved of BE as a full-time course. 

A student, who is participating in the protest, told Newsclick that during admission in Jamia, it was never written in its prospectus that it’s a part-time course, neither was it written on the fee slip. “The Jamia administration has been misleading the students for many years by making such a mistake. Many of the students have been told that they have been declined for various government and private jobs because B.E. is a part-time course. In fact, they also could not get admission to the M.Tech. course for the same reason,” he/she alleged.

Shahzib Jamal, who is student of BE 4th year civil engineering, told Newsclick that 1,400 students are enrolled in this course, and 350 more will be enrolled for the upcoming session. He claimed, “The administration is destroying their future by not informing them that it’s a part time course.” 

He further said that a few students recently visited AICTE office, and they have been informed that they cannot do anything in this regard. Jamia administration will have to decide whether it will be a part-time or a full-time course.

Jamal added, "If there is any delay in changing the part-time status to full-time on the AICTE website, we want an assurance letter saying that we are eligible for any government job in all states of India, PSUs etc."

Some students said that the university administration has issued a show-cause notice on Friday to a few students.

Speaking to Newsclick, Jamia Media Coordinator Saima Saeed said, "This course is 39 years old, but the students have woken up just now. When you are taking admission, you can see it on the Jamia's website that it is a part-time and self-finance course, then why this protest now? Still, we (administration) are trying to look at the legal process to make it full-time. It will take some time, as the AICTE has some norms and regulations."

However, the website of JMI only mentions that it’s an evening course on the introduction page of the programme. There is no mention of the part-time nature of the programme on this page.

An alumni of Jamia, Shadab Anjum said, "To get jobs in government and PSUs, full-time B.E is required. We have realised that after spending so many years that the degree is not very useful in getting government jobs."

Students’ Islamic Organisation (SIO) of India has extended support to the protesting students of JMI. Criticising administration's show cause notice issued to the protesting students, Nahas Mala, president, SIO of India, said that the administration is cheating the students and they didn’t mention that B.E (evening course) is a part-time course, which they have mentioned for other courses in the prospectus and on the official website. “But after the completion of the degree, the certificates given are of a part-time course.” 

Mala added that they demand JMI administration to save the future of the students by providing a full-time degree for all the B.E students enrolled since 2014, and that the errors in the prospectus and other documents of utmost importance regarding admission for students be rectified for the next academic session.