A large number of students from Allahabad University took to the streets in Prayagraj to protest against the reduction of seats in undergraduate and postgraduate courses and related campus concerns. The demonstration forms part of an agitation that has been continuing for several weeks, with student organisations demanding the restoration of reduced seats and a rollback of fee increases.
Student groups including Disha, AISA and Samajwadi Chatra Sabha have been at the forefront of the protests. According to student leaders, the university administration has cut thousands of seats in UG and PG programmes over recent years. Some estimates place the reduction at around 3,000 to 6,000 seats across courses. In certain departments the cuts have been particularly sharp. For example, philosophy seats that earlier numbered 192 have been brought down to around 50 in some reports. Students argue that the reduction, combined with annual fee hikes of about 10 percent for undergraduate courses and 14 percent for postgraduate courses, is making higher education less accessible for students from ordinary and lower-income families.
The protests began around mid-July and have included sit-ins near the library gate, symbolic actions such as wearing chains to represent restriction of opportunities, and road blockades outside the main gate that disrupted traffic on Motilal Nehru Road. On some occasions the demonstrations turned tense, with clashes reported between different student groups and allegations of violence. The university administration has suspended several students and filed FIRs in connection with the unrest, moves that the protesters have condemned as an attempt to suppress legitimate demands.
Student representatives have submitted memorandums to the Vice-Chancellor through the Dean of Student Welfare and have also approached the district administration, the University Grants Commission, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Governor. Their core demands include immediate restoration of the reduced seats, a halt to further fee increases, better campus facilities such as clean drinking water and functional toilets, and an end to what they describe as administrative high-handedness. Some groups have also raised the broader issue of campus democracy, including the long-pending demand for restoration of student union elections, which have remained suspended in many universities in Uttar Pradesh for years.
University officials have maintained that seats have not been arbitrarily cut and have pointed to the growth of private universities as a reason why some seats remain unfilled. They have also said that talks were held with student representatives, though protesters dispute claims that the agitation has been called off and insist that key demands remain unmet.
The continuing protests at one of the country’s older central universities highlight growing student frustration over shrinking opportunities in public higher education. With fee increases and seat reductions coinciding, many students fear that access to affordable university education is steadily narrowing. The administration’s response so far has been a mix of dialogue attempts and disciplinary action, leaving the agitation unresolved and the campus atmosphere charged.
