Approximately 100 first-year students at St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, have been suspended, reportedly for not attending the morning assembly, on Tuesday, 20th of February, 2024. Additionally, the college has warned of possible debarment for students who fail to communicate with their parents.
A letter from students and teachers has been sent to Principal John Varghese, urging him to quickly revoke the suspension order and withdraw the threat of debarring students from upcoming exams. As of now, there has been no response from the administration.
On February 17, more than 100 first-year students at St. Stephen’s College were informed via email about their suspension and the potential barring from the second-semester examination. The reason cited was their failure to arrange a meeting with the principal in response to an email sent on February 4.
In a prior communication, these first-year students were directed to address their inadequate attendance at morning assemblies in January 2024.
The administrator’s mail mentioned that due to non-compliance with the request, the student will be unable to participate in the upcoming examinations as a consequence of suspension.
In response to the principal’s email, the students collectively pointed out the impracticality of scheduling appointments because their parents reside outside Delhi, NCR. Consequently, they explained that their parents couldn’t make short-notice trips to Delhi due to prior commitments, scheduling conflicts, and financial constraints.
They also emphasized that the morning assembly, unique to St. Stephen’s College, is not officially recognized by the university.
Associate Professor of the college, Sanjeev Grewal wrote to the principal while urging the administration to promptly rescind the suspension order imposed on students and withdraw the threat of debarring them from examinations due to insufficient attendance at the morning assembly.
He added that attendance in the morning assembly and religious instruction should be made entirely voluntary in accordance with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. The penal disciplinary action against a college community member should be taken only as a last resort.