No hooligans these, but bright engineering students between 22-25 years, from middle-class families, who have been on an indefinite hunger strike since three days, roughing it out on the stone floor of the main porch, drinking only water, if the supply has not been cut off during the night.

One student even fainted and had to be rushed to Sassoon Hospital, but after receiving medication, he was back at the UoP with the 10 striking students. The rest complain of dizziness, headache and fatigue.

Sameer (name changed) who says he has not even brushed his teeth since three days, is, like many of his colleagues, not a failure, but a distinction student of third year, with just one backlog in second year, because of which he is not permitted to seek admission to final year. Today, his body cannot sustain even the water he drinks.

From Loni, Nashik, Kopargaon, Pravranagar, Baramati, Ahmednagar and Pune, students who admit their parents are now spending sleepless nights, have been demanding immediate implementation of the carry over rule, which will permit them to seek admission to final year.

Though UoP officials insist that a decision can be announced only on September 6, when the academic council meets, the students, who submitted their memorandum on August 5, were assured that a decision would be announced on August 24, when the Faculty of Engineering officially discussed the issue.

The delay will cost them dear. ``How can we study and complete our journals and submissions before the term ends by September 30?'' they ask, already worried about the classes they have missed.

The wait continues, encouraged by the support of Avinash Dharmadhikari, who discussed the issue with nearly 100 representatives at the UoP till way past midnight on August 24, the night they gheraoed the residence of the Pro Vice-Chancellor.

Today the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, Rashtra-wadi Vidyarthi Congress and the Patit Pawan Sanghatana visited the UoP to declare their non-political support to the students.

Syllabus in a muddle
With the implementation of a revised syllabus, subjects from final year engineering have been switched to third year, while some from third year subjects have been switched to final year.

This means some students miss out on certain subjects in final year, and some end up studying them again.

In 1993, the UoP had sanctioned the carry over rule for all students of third year (old course) who were given admission to final year and allowed to keep term for part I and part II of final year (old course), irrespective of the number of subjects of passing in which they had failed in first, second and third year examinations. The carry over rule is granted in some universities of north Maharashtra, and Bangalore University.