Muzaffarpur, May 5: Hundreds of students of the Government Motihari Engineering College of the 2008, 2009 and 2010 batches took out a procession from Langat Singh College to the administrative building of Bhim Rao Ambedkar University, today.

The students demanded an examination centre in Motihari instead of the university examination hall in Muzaffarpur town, where they have been asked to sit for their respective final examinations. The students said they were facing a lot of problems in finding a place to stay for the entire duration of the examination, which would be held for one month. The students have decided to skip this year’s final examinations. A group of students, led by Sudarshan Kumar of the 2009 batch, said they have requested chief minister Nitish Kumar to look into the issue. Nitish has asked the university to consider the request of the students, he said.

“Later, we met the acting vice-chancellor Rajendra Mishra and the examination controller A.K. Singh but they did not pay any heed to our demands,” Sudarshan said.

The students pleaded that they have faced immense difficulties in the previous years while sitting for the final examination in Muzaffarpur even as they stayed in Motihari. Beleaguered over the arbitrariness of the university officials, the students numbering over a 100, gathered outside the Langat Singh College where they formed a procession and decided to protest against the “highhandedness” of the officials. Angry students squatted after demonstrating outside the offices of the vice-chancellor and the pro-vice-chancellor. Then, a delegation of students met the vice-chancellor in his office and again put forth their demands. Mishra said the demand of a home centre of the students of Motihari Engineering College is “quite illogical”.

“Two highest bodies of the university — the senate and the syndicate are only empowered to consider the demand for the setting up of a home centre for the technical institutions affiliated to the university,” the acting vice-chancellor said.

It was the decision of the senate and the syndicate to keep the examination centre away from the technical colleges including the engineering college of Motihari to Muzaffarpur. This is aimed to check the unfair means during the examinations,”

He said the university is determined to conduct the examination in a fair way.

However, he refused to oblige the agitating students and said the university would first seek a report from the dean of the technical institutions including the principal of Government Engineering College in Motihari, Shashi Nath Ojha, before any decision is taken to change the examination centre.