JNAFAU standoff: Animation students' on hunger strike

After more than 20 days of protesting against the poor state of the faculty and management in the college and being harassed by the authorities, the students of JNAFAU campus, Hyderabad have gone on a hunger strike.

The JNAFAU university in the Telangana State offers BFA (Animation) of 4 years at the undergraduate level but most often students are forced to undergo a 5th year as the faculty members knowingly withhold their final certificate allegedly.

With an intake of 65 students per year in a classroom that can barely accommodate 45, students are faced with outdated technology, insufficient resources and unqualified faculty with no understanding of the course syllabus. Added to roster is petty politics and favouritism by some faculty members which ultimately affect the student’s grade. . "When we ask them a question, forget clarifying it, they threaten us citing the internal marks that are given by them," said Mayank Ale, a second year student.

Where punctuality is the mark of a student, professor allegedly strolls in class as late as 11 a.m. Students also complain that there are no campus recruitments in Animation unlike all other Fine Arts courses. “Even with students from all over India, the faculty members teach in Telugu instead of English thus making it difficult for non-Telugu-speaking students to understand” said Debashish Mohapatra, a student who has come from Orissa to pursue the course.

Appalled by the state of their classes and the lack of response from the principle even after submitting their grievances, the students went on strike, demanding changes for the better. The threat of intense agitation prompted the Vice-Chancellor to conduct an official inquiry. But seeing the lack of responses and facing even more harassment from both the Vice-Chancellor P. Padmavathi and the inquiry committee for almost a month, the students have decided to go on hunger strike till they see appropriate action. The protest, which started around 10 am continues till 5 pm, with the students burning an effigy of the inquiry committee

Meanwhile, the whole college of fine arts has decided to boycott their classes in solidarity to the protesters.