Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday made it optional for students during registration for the new semester to pay ₹15 towards the students’ union fee.
The university said that its Statute 33 states that membership of any students’ organisation is voluntary and therefore, students were being made to fill a separate ‘self-declaration’ form and asked if they wished to pay the students’ union fee.
Students claimed that this was the first time that the university introduced such a form as earlier, the students’ union fee was included in the registration fee.
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Students’ leaders’ take
Former JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Mohit Pandey alleged that the introduction of a separate form was aimed at demolishing the students’ body.“The administration has suddenly brought a new form where students can make a declaration on whether they want to pay the [students’ union] fee. Earlier, the fee was included in the registration feeRs. 175 for MA and Rs. 187 for Mphil/PhD earlier,” he said.
Calling for a united stand, JNUSU president Geeta Kumari said no circular was issued regarding the self-declaration, nor did the financial branch have any idea about the separate payment of union funds.
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“The JNU teachers’ association follows a structure where if you do not pay the welfare fund, then you do not get to vote. This is what the administration wants us to do. However, we have a completely different structure under the JNUSU constitution,” Ms. Kumari said.
She also said that the students’ union has been under continuous attacks by the administration and alleged that it was now trying to disband the union. “Some may say, ‘JNUSU does not do nay work, so why should we pay ₹15?’ But it is not about the money. It is about the right, the legitimacy. It is about taking a stand for oneself and the hard-won right to have a students’ union. It is about not allowing this administration to create differences amongst us,” Ms. Kumari added.
JNUSU requested all students to pay the fee and contribute to the union. Its vice-president Simone Zoya Khan said it was the first time in JNU’s history that the union fee , which had always been included in the registration fees was kept separate and made voluntary. “This is a classic example of how anti-student this administration has become. The JNUSU demands that the administration gets back to the former procedure and appeal to the students to stand by the union,” she said.