Two days after the director of Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ), Bharati Gore, allegedly threatened students with assault, around 30 students, led by the National Students’ Union of India, held a protest outside Gore’s office on Thursday, demanding an apology from her. The protesting students also sought an audience with her to resolve the long-standing issues with the college’s infrastructure but to no avail.
Newslaundry repeatedly tried to contact Gore but has not got a response.
The row began on Tuesday when a few DSJ students allegedly approached the director’s office with demands of more facilities in the institute and complaints of high fees. Gore allegedly snapped at the students and retorted, “Joote se peetungi, keep quiet. (I’ll hit you with my shoe).” Following this, a few Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) students protested against the director’s behaviour outside Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor’s office in North Campus.
Since its inauguration in 2017, the self-financed institution has witnessed multiple student protests regarding the alleged lack of facilities. Newslaundry had reported in 2018 how students had protested against the lack of facilities in the college in which two students were also suspended on disciplinary grounds. Again in 2020, students rose up in protest over insufficient infrastructure and for underutilising its budget.
Students from different batches of the Five-Year Integrated Program in Journalism (FYIPJ) and Master of Journalism (MJ) were present at the protest on Thursday. They listed 15 demands such as inadequate classrooms, lack of faculty, issues in society funding, strict attendance, poor library resources, and the absence of basic amenities. They have sent a copy of the list of demands to Gore.
Gargi Patel, a second-year FYIPJ student and convenor of the institute’s Samriddhi Social Outreach Society, which conducts self-defense workshops, raised concerns about society funding. “There are no funds allocated to our society, and we don’t even know if any exist. I had to organise a Women’s Day event from my own pocket. I have been requesting reimbursement for a month now, but I haven’t received it yet,” she alleged.
Safety is also a concern. Ovais Azhar, a first-year MJ student, claimed that some of the classes are conducted in the basement where the emergency exits are non-functional. “We fear something like what happened at the Delhi coaching centre could happen here,” he claimed.
Mayank Shekhar, a first-year MJ student, claimed he attended classes in a waterlogged basement during last year’s monsoon. “I have asthma and don’t feel comfortable there, but most of our classes happen in that space,” he said.
Newslaundry reached out to the DU VC Prof. Yogesh Singh and the Registrar Dr. Vikas Gupta but did not get a response.
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