Protesting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students have accused the university administration of “undertaking a systematic misinformation campaign to hide their sinister moves to arbitrarily push the agenda of seat cuts and scuttling of reservations”.
The students have been protesting by organising a sit-in at the Administration Block against the university’s decision to change the admission procedure by adopting the University Grants Commission’s May 2016 notification.
‘Covering letter’
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) said the administration has claimed that the admission policy has been arrived at after taking the opinion of the UGC and legal considerations. However, they added, the administration does not have a covering letter from the UGC to substantiate this claim.
“We reiterate that any change in admission policy without due discussions and deliberations in the Academic Council of the university, which is the statutory body for any such decision, will be resisted,” said a JNUSU statement.
V-C slammed
The students also attacked the Vice-Chancellor for tweeting and trying to mislead the community by saying that the number of seats would not be cut.
“In reality, the so-called vacancy list for MPhil/PhD students published on the JNU website clearly shows massive reduction in intake/admissions. The V-C has claimed that the fear of seat-cuts is being pushed by a ‘section of students’. However, information provided by the university on its website clearly indicates seat cut,” said the students.
They added that they would continue their sit-in until the V-C answers their queries, including why he was bypassing discussions at JNU statutory bodies like the Academic Council.
The administration said the new JNU admission policy has been made keeping in mind all the socially-inclusive admission policies of JNU while adhering to the 2016 UGC Gazette Notification.
“Less marks for VIVA, deprivation points and concession to the OBC, SC and ST categories are still part of the policy. We, however, will follow the UGC notified upper limits on how many research scholars a faculty can guide,” said the administration.
‘Criminal trespass’
The university added that the agitating students have no basis for occupying the administration building and stopping the staff and officials from entering it.
“This trespassing is criminal and violation of law of the land,” said the administration via a statement.
JNUTA seeks clarification
Reacting to the university’s claims, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) said: “We have been requesting an appointment with the UGC Chairperson ever since he returned from leave. It’s time the UGC ‘clarified’ whether JNU has sent it a single letter about the regulations and whether it has ever replied.”
