A group of students of Netaji Subhas Open University did not allow teachers and officials to leave the campus for around 11 hours on Monday, demanding that they be allowed to write their exams online.
A teacher said the students squatted in front of the front and rear gates from 1pm and physically prevented the teachers and officials from stepping out. The students had enrolled in 2020 and 2021, said another teacher.
“Till the time the campus remained shut from March 2020 to February 2022 because of the pandemic, the classes and the final exams were held online. Now that in-person classes have resumed, we have decided to hold exams offline. But they are not agreeing to this,” the teacher said.
Vice-chancellor Ranjan Chakrabarti held a meeting with the protesting students on Monday afternoon.
“I left after the meeting. Later, the registrar informed me that teachers and staff were not allowed to leave the campus,” he said.
The siege, which started around 1pm, was lifted close to midnight.