Arunachal student’s suicide: Protest called off at Kothamangalam college after management concedes to key demands

Kochi: The intense student protest at Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE) in Kothamangalam following the suicide of Michi Marpu, a third-year B.Tech student from Arunachal Pradesh, was called off temporarily on Tuesday evening after the college management agreed to several key demands raised by the protesting students.

The decision followed a two-hour meeting involving college authorities, principal Bos Mathew Jos, around 20 student representatives and state leaders of major student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Kerala Students Union (KSU).

Following the meeting, the college union representatives announced the agreements reached with the management at a joint press briefing.

As part of the agreement, the college will constitute a formal Inquiry and Internal Grievance Committee comprising management representatives, student representatives and neutral faculty members. The panel will examine the circumstances leading to Michi’s death and submit its findings within a week.

The concerned Head of Department (HOD) and the KTU Coordinator will step aside from their active campus duties until the inquiry report is finalised. The management has also agreed that there will be no interference from the principal’s office in the functioning of the inquiry committee.

Another major demand accepted by the management concerns the credit requirement for students.
The college agreed to relax its autonomous 22-credit threshold and strictly follow Kerala Technological University’s (KTU) 18-credit standard. The decision is expected to provide immediate relief to more than 21 other students who were facing a year back under the existing system.

The management also assured that students who participated in the agitation would face no legal, disciplinary or academic victimisation.

The inquiry committee will determine appropriate financial compensation for Michi’s bereaved family. The management also agreed to keep the fee for Save A Year (SAY) examinations capped at ₹1,000, with the examinations scheduled to be held after Onam.

The tenure of the existing College Union has also been extended to enable it to oversee the implementation of the student welfare measures agreed upon during the negotiations.

Student leaders described the agreements as a hard-fought victory for campus democracy but made it clear that the withdrawal of the protest was conditional on the management honouring its written assurances.

“All 12 demands we placed before the management will be reviewed by this newly formed committee. If there is any backtrack or deviation from these written assurances, we will immediately resume the strike on an even larger scale,” the College Union General Secretary said.

SFI state president M Sivaprasad, addressing the students, said that the circumstances surrounding Michi’s death needs institutional accountability.

“A student travelled 4,000 kilometres from Arunachal Pradesh with dreams and aspirations, only to lose his life when despair took over. That loss cannot be justified under any pretext. Our priority was to ensure that no other student on this campus ever meets the same fate,” the SFI representative said.

KSU state president Aloshious Xavier said the developments at MA College should serve as a warning to educational institutions across the state.

“What unfolded at MA College should never happen on any campus in Kerala. While the authorities initially refused to even engage with the students, a united front of student outfits, including KSU, SFI, and MSF, stood alongside the agitating students. The management was compelled to sit across the table and concede to genuine demands. We will remain vigilant until every single promise is executed in letter and spirit,” Xavier said.

With the agitation temporarily called off, normal academic activities are expected to resume at the college. However, attention will now turn to the inquiry committee’s report, expected within a week, and the implementation of the revised credit regulations and other assurances given by the management.