Students lock themselves in principal’s room

Madurai: Three students of S Vellaichamy Nadar College (SVN) locked themselves inside the college principal’s room on Tuesday in an in-house protest demanding that the administration collect only the fee prescribed by the government and return the excess money collected. On April 3, the students had organised a three-day protest following which revenue officials and the police mediated with the college administration and assured the students of action. Revenue officials sent a report to the regional joint director (RJD) of collegiate education Pon Muthuramalingam. On Monday, the students met the RJD requesting action, but he refused, according to the All India Students Association (AISA) under which the students mobilized the protest. On Tuesday, R Deva Raj, R Kalaivanan and P Nethaji locked themselves inside the principal’s room and protested. Later in the evening, police broke open the door and informed the students that they have been dismissed by the college administration. One of the dismissed students, Deva Raj, told TOI, “We have submitted around 30 petitions in the last one year but a solution remains elusive.” He alleged that police manhandled them while breaking the door and forcing them out. R Murali, secretary of SAVE MKU forum, said the students were forced to resort to this protest as the RJD did not act. “The state government must take over the college under the Tamil Nadu private college regulation act 1976 as the college administration is refusing to comply with its order,” he added.