Image Courtesy: The Hindu
Students from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have alleged that the claim of the Executive Committee of a ‘major roll-back’ in the hostel fee is total hogwash.
Protests in JNU had intensified after students complained against the almost 300 percent fee hike imposed on them without their consent. Most of the students of JNU belong to backward sections of society and will not be able to afford education there if the hike is implemented.
The protests saw Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, the guest of honour at the convocation, trapped inside the venue for close to seven hours. So was M Jagadesh Kumar, the vice-chancellor of JNU.
The university’s hostel committee had approved a new manual during a meeting on October 28, without consulting representatives of the students’ union. The executive council though hadn’t approved the manual.
Here is the official press release stating the ‘revised’ fee, along with the ‘concessions’ for the economically weaker sections.
Yesterday, R Subhrahmanyam, the Education Secretary had tweeted the following:
#JNU Executive Committee announces major roll-back in the hostel fee and other stipulations. Also proposes a scheme for economic assistance to the EWS students. Time to get back to classes. @HRDMinistry
— R. Subrahmanyam (@subrahyd) November 13, 2019
After it became clear that the partial rollback was announced only for the students who are below the poverty line (BPL), the JNU students’ union slammed the centre, calling the announcement “eyewash”.
“We reject this sham propaganda and selective usage of facts which is eyewash. The HRD secretary, while announcing the so-called rollback, has the arrogance to advise us to: ‘go back to classes’. With the fee hike still in place, not only students will be going out of classes but also out of the JNU,” the student union said in a statement.
N Sai Balaji, President of the JNU Students’ Union laughed at the claims of the administration.
I am crying out of laughter seeing this cruel Joke!
Modi-Mamidala duo to save their face from the #JNUFeeHike crise have turned Below Poverty Line into Becho Publicity Line for Media!
A student has to come from a family that earns less than 75rs p/d, 2250rs p/m & 27,000 p/a! pic.twitter.com/RzgCic7aeV
— N Sai Balaji (@nsaibalaji) November 13, 2019
Putting forth a series of questions, he unveiled what the ‘major rollback’ actually meant.
Saying that the JNU administration was trying to save face and create a false narrative in collusion with the Modi government, he tweeted the following, explaining the details of the administration’s statement.
The HRD Secretary tweet on “Major Roll Back’ of fee hike is misleading!
In order to save their face and create a false narrative, JNU admin in collusion with Modi Government is fooling students and people of this country!
Here is a point to point reply!#JNUFeeHikeRemains!
— N Sai Balaji (@nsaibalaji) November 13, 2019
The apt questions by the JNU students show that the revised charges were only ‘cosmetic’ and that there was no actual rollback of the fee hike and only a portion of the room rent has been reduced.
Three teachers – Sachidanand Sinha, Moushumi Basu and Sharad Prahlad, have also accused the university administration of bypassing norms on Wednesday by conducting its executive council meeting at a location far away from the campus, leaving behind a few of its faculty members, who were not told about the venue change in time.
“The pertinent question is why the administration is not listening to and engaging with the students. We were not told of the change in venue, hence we do not know what transpired at the meeting. This is the kind of respect the JNU administration has towards the members of the council,” Sinha said.
“Only if the vice-chancellor had some imagination that he has to take care of every section of the population at the institute, he would know what it means to be a ‘kulpati’. What is his role? He doesn’t talk to students, doesn’t talk to teachers. To me this is great matter of concern.”
The JNU students have promised to keep up their protest, rejecting this propaganda of the administration. Openly defying the education secretary’s order, they say they will remain out of their classes. Proclaiming that they will not budge on their demand of having a fair dialogue with the administration to take their inputs with regards to the revision in fee charges, they also said that the Vice Chancellor cannot run the university via Twitter.
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