Students rant against ban on professional concerts in campus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tech festivals in professional colleges which up to now were marked by presence of famous performers like Mohit Chauhan or Naresh Iyer would now be reduced to plain technical events modelled on school-level science expos. The circular issued by the state government banning DJ and musical events and programmes by professional groups in professional colleges has led to students’ protests. The circular has been issued according to the recommendations of the state-level committee constituted for framing rules and regulations for the smooth functioning of professional college campuses and hostels. The circular, if implemented, would draw curtains on popular tech festivals being organised in engineering colleges across the city, something which has not gone down well with the students. Misuse of funds is cited as one reason why such events should be banned on campuses. Students do not support the idea. Nithin K, one of the organisers of Dhwani fest and fourth year mechanical engineering student at a college of engineering, Thiruvananthapuram said the decision is regressive. “If this is about money, it does not hold ground. The entire money for the fest is spent in concurrence with college staff. Besides, there is a college audit to check how the money was spent,” said Nithin. He said that such decisions reinforce regressive perceptions of the college being a place for study and not for extra-curricular activities. The circular was issued in the wake of the death of a student at CET during Onam celebrations when a girl student was hit by a jeep inside the campus. Anandu Surendran, a former student of government engineering college Barton Hill and an organiser of the tech fest Agneya said such shows provide lot of entertainment and events are always held taking into account the safety aspect. “In case of bike stunts, we make sure that the participants have valid licenses and the police are made aware of the event. Besides, barricades are placed. It is okay to ban vehicles inside the campus, but to ban events inside the campus is disappointing,'' he said. The students are now planning a joint campaign to force the government to revoke the decision. Sree Hemand, a fourth year student at Sree Chithira Thirunal College of Engineering said students of different colleges agree that the stipulations in the circular are unfair. “It is unfair for the government to deny us any kind of activities related to art,” a student said.