To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of them.
This piece of saying by Ella Wheeler Wilcox very well fits into the status quo of National Law University, Odisha. An institution which engenders future lawmakers, litigators and judicial officers is grappling to provide bare minimum living conditions to students who travel from pan-India, carrying the sweet old perceptions of how their law school would be.
The students here are on an indefinite strike since this week. Save the opulence, all they demand is to annihilate the prevailing sangfroid of authorities towards their plight. Amidst cries of “Azaadi”, they could be seen raising placards displaying Bollywood-inspired slogans like “VC tum kab aoge” and “Bekhayali mei bhi VC ka khayal aye“, calling for the attention of the Vice Chancellor of the NLU and the NLU community at large.
If the non-functional air conditioning systems and lack of first aid were not enough, the authorities have suffered a backlash for its execrable infrastructure. The University had made fanciful promises regarding a world-class library which is “under construction” for the past two years. What can be seen in the campus is a makeshift one which is barely equal to two classrooms. The fungus-infected, cracked walls fetid with moisture and creaking furniture have made the girls hostels unliveable. Female students have also demanded removal of the hostel warden for alleged repression and stringent curfew timing.
(Girls hostel at NLUO)
Biased approach towards setting question papers for regular and exempted students has also been reported.
Moreover, the expectations of being taught by experienced and knowledgeable pedagogy were soon shattered when the students came to terms with poor faculty and lack of teaching experience thereon.
Students here were compelled to live in such harsh conditions, but the issues and the rage surfaced after the decision of a fee hike of Rs. 30,000 which makes the annual fee two lacs per annum. Given the present scenario of rampant maladministration, the hike seems to be totally unjustified
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The Student Body of NLUO finally had an interaction with the Vice Chancellor himself and discussed the matter in detail, after repeated unsuccessful attempt to curb the protest. However, the student body claims no firm assertion has been made about meeting the necessities of students. The protest went on till 3 am on 24th July 2019. A General Business Meeting is to be convened at 10:30 p.m. today. The protests are expected to continue till the administration and Student Body comes to a common consensus.