Mumbai: The undergraduate students of Bandra’s Rizvi College of Arts, Science and Commerce have raised an objection to the college withholding their results unless students register for an upcoming marathon. These students, most in their second year, have been asked to register for the marathon by paying ₹750 each and only then be handed their individual mark sheets.
The Saquib Rizvi Marathon aims to support those belonging to the weaker sections of society and raise awareness, as well as honour cancer survivors. The 2020 edition saw the participation of over 5000 runners, which also included 100 cancer survivors. Likewise, the 2021 edition, too, was highly successful, despite being held virtually owing to the pandemic.
“This marathon is an annual event and should be voluntary. But for those of us who don’t want to participate, the college is using results as leverage and has stated that unless we pay the amount and register for the event, we will not receive our results,” said a second year BA student of the institute.
Last week, some students who refused to register for the marathon due to personal reasons were also asked to meet the principal of the institute to plead their case, but to no avail. “The principal gave us very clear orders that unless we pay and register for the event, our results will not be released. This is unfair and we want the University of Mumbai to look into this matter,” said another student.
The event, Saquib Rizvi Memorial Cancer Awareness Marathon is scheduled to take place next month. Along with students, staff members of the institute too have been asked to pay and participate in the event.
When contacted the institute, in-charge principal Anjum Ara said the college is not forcing the students, but encouraging them to participate in the event. “The idea is to spread awareness. By encouraging our students to participate in the marathon, we are also thinking about their health. We will release results but are trying our best to ensure more students participate in the marathon,” she said.