MOHALI: Hundreds of students representing various students' bodies clashed with the police here on Thursday during a protest against PU's centralization. Nine student organisations held the protest and attempted to break and scale police barriers, after which Mohali police resorted to mild lathicharge.
No one was hurt during the incident, said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni.The protesting students demanded that Panjab University should be handed over to Punjab and opposed its centralization. They also batted for the repeal of privatization, saffronisation and centralization of education through the New Education Policy (2020). The students demanded that complete financial responsibilities of the government universities of Punjab should be with the state government.
The issue heated up after the Punjab and Haryana high court directed the central government, through the ministries of home affairs and education, to consider the conversion of Panjab University into a central one.
