NEW DELHI: Students of Delhi University‘s School of Open Learning (SOL) on Friday held a protest outside the venue of a job mela, organised by DU, alleging discriminatory treatment after an internal circular categorically barred them from participating in it.Later, SOL principal, Ajay Jaiswal, and the dean of students’ welfare, Ranjan Tripathi, met the protesters and allowed them to participate in the programme, the students said. TOI reached out to the officials, but there was no response from them.“The administration assured that SOL students would not be barred from such programmes in the future,” Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), under whose banner the protest was held, said in a statement.The job mela is held annually on the campus for DU students. However, SOL students said they were denied entry, even as DU alumni were allowed to participate.Several students gathered outside the gate, raising slogans and carrying placards that read “Stop discrimination against SOL students” and “Equal rights for all DU students”.SOL is a branch of Delhi University that provides a flexible and affordable alternative to regular colleges, catering largely to working students.Calling the move “educational apartheid”, students said this was not an isolated instance, alleging that SOL students are also barred from participating in DU events, including college fests and other campus activities. Citing an earlier instance, the students’ organisation pointed to a 2019 logo design competition by the Women’s Studies Development Centre from which SOL students were excluded.Students also flagged a range of issues, alleging systemic neglect. “From being made to sit for exams in under-construction basements and tents, to abrupt changes in exam schedules and long queues for study material, SOL students have been at the receiving end of DU’s open apathy and discrimination,” KYS said in a statement.They added that such exclusion disproportionately affects SOL students, many of whom come from economically weaker backgrounds and depend on such platforms for job opportunities.SOL also conducts separate job fairs, which students alleged are “substandard” and offer limited opportunities. In Jan, TOI reported that only one student in 1 secured a job through such drives, with placements largely in BPOs and lower-profile roles.At that time, SOL director Payal Mago said the campus was in talks with DU to integrate its placement process with the university’s central placement system.
