St Stephen’s college ‘suspends’ over 100 students

St Stephen’s College has reportedly suspended approximately 100 first-year students, alleging their non-attendance of morning assemblies, as stated by a teacher on Tuesday. The college has issued a warning of debarring the students if they fail to contact their parents. In response, students and teachers have written to Principal John Varghese, urging the withdrawal of the suspension order and the debarment threat. The administration has not yet responded.

The suspension email, sent on February 17, informed over 100 first-year students that they were suspended and would be debarred from the second-semester examination. The reason given was their failure to set up an appointment with the principal following a February 4 email regarding low attendance in January 2024 morning assemblies.

Expressing concern, an anonymous teacher stated that students were barred from attending classes due to low attendance in the morning assembly, leading to many teachers worrying about the repercussions. Students, unable to set appointments due to parents residing outside Delhi NCR, highlighted the impracticality of such a request.

Associate Professor Sanjeev Grewal wrote to the principal, expressing shock and emphasizing that morning assembly attendance is specific to St Stephen’s College and not recognized by the university. He suggested that compulsory assembly attendance may violate students’ fundamental rights under the Constitution and urged the withdrawal of suspension orders and debarment threats. Additionally, he requested voluntary participation in morning assembly and religious instruction, in accordance with constitutional rights.