Around 50 students of Kolkata's Presidency University have been protesting a proposal to make admission tests optional.
It was a forced sleepover for the top officials at Kolkata's famous Presidency University who were locked into a room by a group of 50 students opposed to new rules for admission.
The students barged into the office of Vice chancellor Anuradha Lohia, around 5 pm, on Thursday and held her hostage along with her colleagues.
About 10 days ago, the university, which offers undergraduate and graduate courses in the Arts and Sciences said that in a break from tradition, new students may be admitted solely on the basis of their marks in their school board exams and that entrance exams, conducted by different departments of the university, will no longer be essential for judging applicants. So far, a combination of the two scores determined a student's eligibility.
The protestors - most of whom are undergarduates say that ending admission tests will lower the bar. The faculty has now agreed to a discussion with students on the new guidelines.
"Now they are giving autonomy to every department to decide whether they want admission tests or not. We are opposed to this. We want admission tests to remain like earlier," the students' union's vice president Amardeep Singh told news agency PTI.
"The departments will decide on whether they will have admission tests or want to admit students on the basis of their marks," the Vice Chancellor said, according to PTI.