Ruckus over MSU commerce admissions leads to protest by staff

Vadodara: A confrontation during the FYBCom admission process at the Faculty of Commerce of Maharaja Sayajirao University on Wednesday triggered drama, police intervention and a protest by faculty staff, who have decided to wear black clothes from Thursday while continuing admission work.

The ruckus on the second day of admissions created confusion among hundreds of students and parents gathered at the faculty premises.

Addressing mediapersons, faculty of commerce dean Pragnesh Shah alleged that faculty employees were abused and manhandled by student leaders. He said nearly 200 staff members had been working tirelessly over the past several days to ensure smooth admissions and address issues faced by applicants.

According to Shah, some student leaders had earlier approached the faculty with two parents over an admission-related issue. Faculty officials explained the process in detail, after which the parents acknowledged that the problem had arisen due to an error while filling the application form on the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) portal.

“The issue was resolved and the parents admitted it was their mistake in understanding the admissions procedure,” Shah said.

Faculty officials alleged that despite the matter being settled, members of the ABVP escalated the issue.

Shah claimed that faculty authorities repeatedly tried to explain the admission procedure and efforts to resolve technical problems, but were not given an opportunity to do so. Members of the student outfit staged a prolonged protest outside the faculty’s main building, sang Ram Dhun and later entered the dean’s chamber.

The situation worsened when Shah was leaving the premises to attend a meeting at the university head office. He alleged that protesters obstructed his movement and that one individual tried to slap him. Non-teaching staff intervened before the blow could land, he said.

Shah further said that abusive language was used against teachers and clerical staff, prompting a reaction from faculty employees. He acknowledged that some teaching and non-teaching staff members retaliated after the alleged assault attempt and verbal abuse.

“There is a difference between aggression and avivek (indiscipline),” Shah said, asserting that faculty employees would not tolerate “gundagardi” in the guise of student leadership.

“We are not wearing bangles. We do not want to go to the police for every issue. We can resolve matters ourselves. If people with no connection to the admission process interfere and disrupt work meant for students’ benefit, we will not tolerate it,” he said.

After a meeting after the incident, faculty staff decided to wear black clothes from Thursday as a symbolic protest, even as the admission process continues as scheduled.

The situation was eventually brought under control after Sayajigunj police reached the spot and detained a couple of student leaders allegedly involved in the ruckus.