Each of the 16 colleges under Ranchi University will have to inform the varsity about seating capacity to ensure students can take their exams properly and without being cramped, it was decided at a meeting vice-chancellor Ramesh Kumar Pandey held with the college principals on Wednesday.

All the 16 college principals were present at the meeting held in the administrative building of the university near Saheed Chowk on Main Road here. The meeting also decided that the college principal, who is usually the centre superintendent during examinations, will immediately return the surplus question papers or request additional question papers from the to the university examination controller, as the case may be.

Other decisions taken at the meeting included immediate transmission to the university of marks of internal examinations in the colleges, evaluation of answer books on alternate days by teachers, ensuring admission in college through the chancellor’s portal, finding solutions at the college level to problems raised by student unions and taking measures to conduct the last semester examination of the 2017-2020 batch graduate students on time to ensure that they are not deprived of appearing in any competitive examination due to delay in examination.

University spokesperson Prakash Jha informed the media about the decisions, and a press statement was released later on Wednesday evening. State ABVP organising secretary Yagyawalkya Shukla welcomed the decision regarding space in colleges and immediate requisition/return of question papers.

“It will help avoid situations like five students sitting on one bench and sharing one question during examinations, something that happened a week ago at JN College, Dhurwa,” Shukla said.

Before the university meeting started, a section of Ranchi University Students’ Union members staged a demonstration demanding that the vice-chancellor withdraw criminal cases against ABVP members.

“Three years ago, an agitation had taken place against the examination controller,” union president Neeraj Kumar was heard saying. “During the agitation some students set the chair of the examination controller on fire. Though ABVP members were not involved in this incident and had gone to sort out the matter, an FIR was registered against them at Kotwali police station and now the police are harassing ABVP members. This should be stopped.”