Kolkata: Calcutta University has extended the date for Surendranath Law College students to submit their forms for semester 2, 4, 6 and 8 exams to Sept. 21. The deadline was revised as on Sept 11, the original last date for submission of forms, 700 out of 900 students at the institute were found with attendance lower than the permissible 65%, barring them from sitting for their exams.After the extension of the deadline, the college authorities said they would hold eight classes every day in hybrid mode to ensure all students had the attendance required for sitting for exams.The matter came to a head on Friday, when Mohammadi Tarannum, vice-principal and the teacher-in charge of the college, left the campus under police protection. She alleged she was confined to her office without water or electricity for two days and was forced to sign a resignation letter by students, demanding that they be allowed to submit their exam forms despite low attendance. Tarannum later declared her resignation was forced and pointed out that she would continue performing her duties of a vice-principal.While protesting students boycotted classes on Monday and even Tarannum did not attend college, citing medical reasons, she arrived at the campus around 8 am on Tuesday.After a meeting with university exam controller section officials shortly later, Tarannum told TOI, “The university has granted an extension to the date for filling exam forms. We have decided to conduct remedial classes in physical as well as online mode so that each student can have the required attendance. There will be eight classes every day for the students to make up the shortfall.” She had issued a notice of remedial classes for the students of semester 2, 4, 6 and 8, all scheduled for their exams.After Tarannum reached college on Tuesday morning, the very students, who had forced her to leave on Friday, did not put up any resistance. She spoke to college staffers, directing them to follow the instructions to open the college gate at 6.30 am every day. She also met the students, embraced them and visited every classroom to check how lectures were going on.After the vice-principal resumed her duty, she declined to discuss the Friday incident further. “They are all students, and I don’t want to talk about the unpleasant experience. I wanted to break the deadlock, and I am quite satisfied that we got the deadline extension from the university.” Tarannum also said she had sought an appointment with the higher education department to discuss the development grievances, raised by students during the agitation.BJP MLA Koustav Bagchi, also the president of the governing body of the college, said, “It’s good news that the university has extended the deadline to fill exam forms. I am merely being a bridge between the college and the govt, and I have no intention to get involved in a conflict at the college. I received a petition from some students, demanding the vice-principal’s removal, which I forwarded to the higher education department to make a final decision.”Sayan Dey, an eighth-semester student, said, “We are all worried about our future. We want the vice-principal to release the exact attendance sheet with the actual data for every student.”
