More than two years since COVID-19, TNNLU remains shut as Vice-Chancellor dismisses student concerns

Students of the Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU), Tiruchirappalli are at loggerheads with the administration over its refusal to fully re-open since it shut down on account of the COVID-19 pandemic which hit in March 2020..Expressing concern that the campus has not been reopened for offline classes for over two years, fourth and fifth year students at TNNLU have been persistently requesting the administration via emails to resume offline classes. The students cited examples of other universities in the vicinity as well as across the country opening their residential campuses for students..In response to the students' requests, Vice-Chancellor Prof VS Elizabeth stressed on the risk factors that would come with opening the campus while the pandemic continues to exist. In a communication to the students sent back in February this year, she wrote,"...you have not understood the concerns and practical problems of the University administration and the faculty. The decision to reopen the campus does not require consultation with the student body as it involves administrative issues and concerns about feasibility of conducting classes on the campus. The decision to reopen the campus for classes has been left to the Vice Chancellor by the University's Governing Bodies. I have, However, taken the decision in consultation with the Registrar and the faculty members of TNNLU and the Executive Council of TNNLU and based on the current pandemic situation...".Citing factors like the new variants of the virus having the potential to put individuals and elders with co-morbidities at a heightened risk, coupled with the fact that the University was undergoing renovation since August last year, the Vice-Chancellor said in the same mail, "You're right that the Government of Tamil Nadu has permitted institutions to reopen their campuses based on the advice of medical experts who said that this particular variant of the virus is not causing too many hospitalizations. Permitted means, if we wish to reopen we may...but the virus seems to be more virulent than the previous variants such that one in two persons can be infected...".Responding to fresh requests for physical opening of the campus in March 2022, an adamant Prof Elizabeth said,"I am tired of responding to students who are barely 20 years old advising me as to how to run the university and what decisions to take... I am a leader and not a follower, never in my life have I followed anyone other than Jesus. I create the trail and not follow the one someone else has trod. By God's grace I have not gone wrong in nearly 40 years of service and I know that I am not wrong in this either...".Most recently, the University administration released a circular dated June 26 allowing first, second and third years to come to campus in a phased manner beginning August 1. Meanwhile, the students of the senior batches were intimated that they could join only on September 1. Post this circular, the unrest between the students and administration has only increased, with demands being put forth for priority to be given to the senior batches for conduct of offline classes. The senior students highlighted in their email correspondence with the administration that it is of primordial importance for them to resume offline classes given that their syllabus constitutes hard core law subjects, as against the syllabus of freshers, which includes generic non-law subjects.Speaking to Bar & Bench, a fourth-year student said, "The problem is that the odd semesters are short with a duration of 3.5 months. The first month will go in online classes, which is totally ineffective and a waste - both the authorities and students will agree with this. When we explained this to the Vice=Chancellor and the Registrar, they expressed unwillingness to bring the senior batches on campus as it will increase their pressure.".In her most recent response to demands by fourth and fifth years to be allowed on campus, Prof Elizabeth wrote, "I have about 6 months to maximum of a year for the end of my term. I don't want to spend it by responding to emails and meeting with students about being permitted to go out of the campus to watch a movie, go to a mall or some such trivial thing when here I am overseeing the processing of the application forms for admission...Do you think that I also need the stress of students arguing about going out of the campus in the middle of the pandemic and bringing infection to the campus...? The pandemic is not over...".Attempts to reach out to the Vice-Chancellor and other authorities at the University bore no fruit.