Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The personal secretary of state higher education minister Mohan Yadav was caught on camera on Wednesday, threatening a student leader that he would slap him and get him suspended, when the latter had gone to Yadav’s office to demand online exams in view of corona.
The student leader Surya Kant told Free Press that he went to meet Yadav with a group of students to request for online exams like last year. He was unavailable and the delegation was asked to wait.
After waiting for half-an-hour, they were taken to meet Yadav’s personal secretary Vijay Budhwani. They asked him to let them meet the minister.
“Just as we went in his cabin, we found him mask-less. We urged him to wear a mask and then let us meet the minister. I don’t know what provoked him that he started to abuse us and raised his hand to slap us. He even threatened to get us suspended for our misbehaviour,” said Surya Kant.
“We only wanted to meet the minister and ask him to conduct online exams. We were asked to return after waiting for hours. We were told that minister was busy in a meeting. But we saw several people entering his cabin to meet him,” he added.
Budhwani claimed that there were too many students and when he asked some of them to leave, they began screaming and misbehaving.
“I asked them to hand me over their demand letter but they did not listen. The video shows half truth. I had to raise my voice to make them quiet,” he said.
The students of Barkatullah University and of colleges have been demanding online exams for long.
‘Can’t put my baby to risk’
A student from Maharani Laxmi Bai College said, “I have a few months old baby. How can I come every day to take exams and put myself and my son to risk? If something happens, neither college management nor the government will take responsibility. The management should reverse its decision and take offline exams to ensure every body’s safety from the virus.”
‘What’s the problem this year?’
A student from Career College, Avineesh Mishra, said, “Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced how state performed well last year in digitising education. He had said that nobody’s study was hampered and the students took exams online with ease. If this is so, what is the problem this year? Will coronavirus spare us if we gather to take exams and attack us if we gather to party? BU is conducting online exam for UTD students, why not us?”
Will consider
“Many MLAs have demanded that colleges should conduct exams online. Students too are demanding it. We had closed the schools in view of Covid-19 too. We will definitely consider the prospect of conducting online college exams.”
Narottam Mishra, Home Minister, MP
Don’t politicse: Min
“The issue of students’ exams should not be politicised. The government is talking to experts and VCs on the issue. The future of students depends on our decision and we will make one soon.”
Mohan Yadav, Minister of Higher Education, MP
