Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University protests against government’s proposal to allot 10 acres to JNAFAU

A large number of protesting employees raised slogans against the Congress government and threatened to intensify the protests if the proposal was not shelved

Hyderabad: Condemning the Congress government’s proposal to allot 10 acre of Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU) land to Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU), teaching and non-teaching staff of the Open University on Thursday staged a protest on university campus demanding the government withdraw the proposal.

A large number of protesting employees raised slogans against the Congress government and threatened to intensify the protests if the proposal was not shelved.

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To strengthen their efforts, the teaching, non-teaching and technical staff of the Open University formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC), which will spearhead the protests and put forward their demands.

The employees also submitted a representation to BRAOU Registrar Prof. E Sudha Rani.

The State government is actively considering allocating 10 acre of land in BRAOU campus to JNAFAU and a final decision is expected after the cabinet meeting, which is scheduled for Friday.

The State government might also allot the present JNAFAU campus to Telangana Education Commission, recently established with former bureaucrat Akunuri Murali as its Chairman.

The BRAOU, the first Open University in the country, has been extending distance education to students from economically weaker sections and rural areas in 53.63 acres of land in Jubilee Hills since 1982.

Stating that BRAOU’s enrollment has been increasing every year, the JAC said the existing buildings and infrastructure were insufficient, and already causing a lot of inconvenience to students.

There was a demand for construction of new buildings on the university campus, they  said, adding that as the university campus was replete with boulders and hillocks, not even one acre of land was feasible for construction of buildings.

Considering demand for new buildings, the JAC said that if the State government allotted the land for other institutions then the Open University’s requirements cannot be met. The JAC members demanded the government withdraw the idea, failing which they threatened to commence a large-scale stir on the campus.

The BRAOU teaching and non-teaching staff – Prof. Pallavi Kabde, Prof. Pushpa Chakrapani, Prof. Madhuri, Prof. Chandrakala, Dr. P Venkata Ramana, Dr. Bhoju Srinivas, Dr. Banoth Dharma, Dr. Venkateshwarlu, Dr. LVK Reddy, and Dr. Krishna Reddy among others participated in the protest.