DCE or DTU?

The pleasant month of March has been, so far, quite an unpleasant month for the students of the Delhi Technological University (DTU), previously known as the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE).

A massive protest has been taking place, involving both the students and the faculty members. These groups are against the conversion of DCE to DTU. DCE, an institution affiliated with the Delhi University, became DTU, a state university last year after a bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly. The students and faculty members feel that the reasons given by the authorities for carrying out this conversion are not justified. They support re-affiation of DCE to DU.

The protest started on 4th march, when the students boycotted classes and shouted out slogans in college, in the form of protest. Subsequently, two students were rusticated for sloganeering, inciting other students esp. juniors to participate, and for using abusive language within the college premises. In the following week, there was a protest at Jantar Mantar, a candlelight march in the campus, and the protesting students have been boycotting classes.

The faculty members have also expressed their dissent over the conversion of DCE to DTU, by refusing to take classes, and even through a hunger strike in one particular case.

DU has filed a case against DTU for converting to a state university without the consent of the Central govt., which has its hearing scheduled on 14th April.

This entire protest has created an atmosphere of tension in DTU. The students have lost out on valuable time for studies, and their mid-semester exams are around the corner. The students are uncertain about what will happen next - whether they will finally call themselves students of DCE or DTU.