JNU students union calls for strike after admin insists on 75% attendance

A day after the Jawarharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration made 75 per cent attendance compulsory to be eligible to write exams for all its registered students, the students union burnt the circular at the campus on Friday and also called for a mass strike on Monday.

The JNU student's union also alleged that that Dean of School of Social Sciences, Prof Pradipta Chowdhary, "wrongfully confined" a group of 25 students for boycotting the compulsory attendance.

"In a highly condemnable incident today, 25 students of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning of School of Social Sciences were wrongfully confined and forced to sign attendance sheets by Prof Chowdhary," JNUSU President Geeta Kumari said.

Chowdhary did not respond to requests for a comment.

"The professor refused to allow students to leave class without signing the attendance sheet. This is an extremely shocking incident when a faculty coerced students both verbally and physically to sign on a sheet of paper without their consent," she said.

The JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) also joined the boycott call. "JNU teachers will not maintain the attendance record and will not cooperate the compulsory attendance regime," the JNUTA said in a statement.

Against the move

• JNU Admin made 75% attendance compulsory for students to be eligible to write their exams. Students have been protesting this move and the teacher’s association has also gone against it.