More than a hundred first-year students at St. Stephen’s College of Delhi University reportedly faced suspension for their alleged absence from morning assemblies, as claimed by both teachers and students on Tuesday. These students also alleged that they were barred from the second semester examination for failing to meet with Principal John Varghese alongside their parents to address the issue of their absence from the assemblies, as stated in an email sent by the first-year students to Principal Varghese on Monday.
In response to the situation, the students expressed their concerns in an email to Principal Varghese, highlighting the challenges they faced in scheduling appointments due to their parents’ non-residence in Delhi-NCR and the resulting logistical and financial constraints. They contested the feasibility of arranging appointments at short notice, citing prior commitments and scheduling conflicts.
Furthermore, the students claimed that their attempts to schedule appointments without their guardians were rebuffed. The decision to suspend and debar the students from examinations was communicated to their parents and guardians via email allegedly authored by the principal’s personal secretary, citing non-compliance with the appointment request as the reason for the disciplinary actions.
The alleged suspension prompted criticism from a faculty member at the college, who denounced the perceived imposition of religious activities and questioned the adherence to university rules and regulations. Sanjeev Grewal, head of the college’s economics department, voiced his dismay over the situation in an email to Principal Varghese, disputing the grounds for debarring students from examinations based on university regulations and questioning the legitimacy of morning assembly attendance as a criterion for suspension. Grewal emphasized that the morning assembly was a college-specific tradition not officially recognized by the university, and thus, failing to attend it should not warrant suspension from the college.