Bhubaneswar, Aug. 18: Tension gripped the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya today after students resorted to strike demanding immediate fulfilment of their 11-point charter of demands.

Holding placards and shouting slogans against the authorities, the students refused to attend classes till their demands were addressed.

They rued shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff members at the varsity and claimed immediate recruitment for the posts that had been lying vacant. They also alleged that the guest lectures at the college had been arbitrarily appointed.

"We are not satisfied with their mode of teaching as we hardly get anything to learn from them. Most of them are not qualified to teach their subjects. We have lodged a number of complaints to the authorities, but she always shrugs it off, saying that it is the government that hires the guest lecturers," said Ashish Parida, a student of the drama department of the college.

They further alleged that the guest lecturers misbehaved with the students and also used harsh words to them. At present, there are around 20 guest lecturers at the college. The institute has only four permanent lecturers and the rest are guest faculties.

"We want the college to hire knowledgeable teachers and appoint the guest faculties as permanent lecturers, so that the academics of the students are not hampered," said Ashish. The students also demanded a transparent mode of work while conducting monthly cultural programmes.

"The government gives a lot of amount to conduct cultural festivals, but the students are not involved in the process. There is a student committee, which take part in it, but we are never made part of the arrangement process," said another student.

Their other requirements include increase of remuneration for poor students from Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 per month and ban on letting out the college on rent for occasions.

A student said they would continue the indefinite strike unless they get a written assurance from the authorities. Since the past one week, the students have been trying to conduct meetings with the authorities regarding their problems. "Despite repeated pleas, the authorities have turned a deaf ear to us. We did not have any option but to stage protest," said Sai Ram, another student of the college.

The college authorities said they would try to chalk out solutions to the problems at the earliest. "We have forwarded the students' demands to the government. I have also had a meeting with the culture director, and we are trying to solve matters at the earliest," said college principal Tamasarani Das Mohapatra.

The culture department set up the college through the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1964, and it has students in Plus Two and undergraduate courses.

The institute continues to be the only government college in the state imparting education in the fields of music, dance and drama.