Citizenship Amendment Act: Educational institutions reopen after 10 days in Assam

IMPACT OF ANTI-CAA VIOLENCE

Varsity students appeared for exams with black badges pinned on lapels

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Schools, colleges and universities in the State reopened on Monday 10 days after the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests turned violent even as students of Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University appeared for their semester examinations by wearing black badges against the contentious legislation.

Barring the Christian schools which remained closed due to Christmas and winter holidays, all other private and government schools in the State’s capital city here reopened on early Monday morning hours.

While the government schools conducted the annual examinations which had to be discontinued from December 12 following anti-CAA violence, many private schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted unit tests.

Colleges and universities also reopened on Monday. Regular classes were held in majority of colleges in the city. Semester examinations of the post-graduate courses which had to be postponed due to anti-CAA protests, were held at Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University. Students of both the universities sat for their examinations with black badges pinned on lapels.

“Students of Gauhati University will continue to protest against the CAA. We will simultaneously study, sit for exams and continue our protests. There will be no end to protests till the CAA is scrapped,” an examinee at GU said.

It may be mentioned here that vice chancellors of 20 universities in the State recently made an appeal through newspaper advertisements to the students’ community to concentrate on their studies and appear for examinations on time. Rattled by massive students’ protest against the CAA, the State Government has also asked the vice chancellors to ensure conducting of classes and examinations on time.

Even though normalcy has returned to the city, parents were apprehensive to send their children to schools on Monday. “On December 11, when the anti-CAA protests turned violent in the city, my daughter was in school. The protestors blocked all major roads in the city. I heaved a sigh of relief only when my daughter reached home from school at 5 pm on December 11. Hope such a situation does not arise again,” Sunita Buragohain of Dispur said.

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