Scores of protesters led by the students’ union have been protesting at the administrative building since February 9 against the implementation of the University Grant Commission’s (UGC) May, 2016
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students continued to occupy the varsity’s administrative block for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, demanding a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) to seek clarification on amendments in the admission policy. The administration, meanwhile, called their mode of protest unlawful and criminal.
Scores of protesters led by the students’ union have been protesting at the administrative building since February 9 against the implementation of the University Grant Commission’s (UGC) May, 2016 notification, which makes viva a major criterion for admission into MPhil and PhD courses and also cuts down the number of seats in these courses.
“We’ll not budge from the spot till the V-C meets us and answers our queries related to the changes in the admission policy,” said JNU Students’ Union President Mohit Pandey. “What we are doing is not criminal or illegal. Illegal is what the V-C is trying to do. He has simply violated the JNU Act passed by the Parliament of India by unilaterally imposing his decisions during the Academic Council meeting on December 26,” he added.
V-C Jagadesh Kumar, however, said the administration representatives went to meet the agitating students but the latter were not ready for any talks. He also warned that the students must discontinue their ongoing blockage or “the law will take its course”. “The JNU administration will continue to put sense in this small group of unruly students by talking to them. If that fails, the law will take its course,” the V-C said.
Commenting on the decrease in the number of seats, he said: “There will be no seat cut in PhD in JNU. No PhD enrolment, however, will be done in case of no vacancy.” At present, JNU offers an integrated MPhil-PhD course.
“Where will the students go after MPhil, if there will be no admission in PhD?” Pandey rued. The varsity students also alleged that the administration has cut off the wi-fi connection at the administrative building, where the agitators have been sitting, to prevent them from putting up information on social media. “He is scared of us as we keep informing people about the happenings in JNU,” Pandey said.
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