Students protest outside Himachal Technical University; demand relaxation in exam rules

Hamirpur, Nov 4 (PTI) Hundreds of pharmacy students from across the state on Tuesday staged a sit in outside the Himachal Pradesh Technical University (HIMTU) here, demanding a one-year relaxation to appear in their examinations.

The students raised slogans against the university administration and warned that agitation would be intensified if their demands were not met soon.

Nitesh Kumar, one of the protesters, said students who have pending exams from the previous semester were being made to repeat the entire year under the current system.

"All we want is a fair chance to appear in the exams. Losing an entire year for one backlog is unfair and should not be allowed," he said.

He said students have been protesting peacefully to raise their demands, but the university administration is ignoring them.

Meanwhile, Rajesh Kumar, Dean of HIMTU, clarified that the exams for the B. Pharmacy course conducted by the university strictly adhere to the norms outlined by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI).

He said as per the norms, students who are unable to clear their first semester are not eligible to appear for the next semester.

"The university has already informed the PCI about the situation and requested to grant one year relaxation to the students, just like it was granted to the students of earlier batches," he said. PTI/COR RHL