The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) has asked students of other universities to join its march towards the Parliament on Monday, November 18, to protest against the fee hike and other issues affecting higher education. It also appealed to students outside Delhi to organise agitations on November 18 to mark a National Day of Protest, “to safeguard education as a right, and oppose its transformation into a commodity“.
The police have deployed its Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to stop the long march for affordable education and they have locked the students in the campus.
JNU students have taken to twitter to share live updates and unveil the scare tactics of the government.
Unacceptable scare tactics being used by the State machinery to stop a handful of students from walking to parliament and demanding affordable education for all. Students locked inside campus by men in uniform. Is this Democracy? #EmergencyinJNU #FeesMustFall @ndtv @MirrorNow pic.twitter.com/Y2gTTH7dfh
— Senjuti (@BeArgumentative) November 18, 2019
43% of students of JNU have an annual parental income of less than ₹ 1,44,000 and the proposed fee hike will make the annual hostel fee ₹ 66,100 for Single Seater and ₹ 62, 500 for Double Seater#EmergencyinJNU#AffordableEducation@DrRPNishank @mamidala90
— Arish Rehman Khan (@arishrehmankhan) November 18, 2019
Students from BPL category with parental monthly income of Rs 2250 will pay atleast Rs 4108. Where is the consideration for them. And when students protest, this is what we are greeted with.#EmergencyinJnu pic.twitter.com/r5OmN7Ysan
— Mayur Kumar (@Mayur_Kumar1990) November 18, 2019
#jnu Students protest against fees hike, library and Hostel curfew timings and Hostel manual peacefully. Students march to #Parliament so that issues can be taken to the Prime Minister and MPs #EmergencyinJNU #JNUProtests @RahulGandhi @guptar @INCSCDept @Mayawati @jyotiyadaav pic.twitter.com/ahd4zimqVC
— Neeranjan Rao (@emir_neer) November 18, 2019
Meanwhile, the JNU Teacher’s Association (JNUTA) has given a befitting reply to the Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar after he wrote to them seeking their cooperation in maintaining a peaceful academic atmosphere in the JNU campus.
D.K. Lobliyal, President JNUTA and SurajitMazumdar, Secretary JNUTA have written to the Vice Chancellor and clearly stated that they “couldn’t disagree more” with his ‘appeal’ to make extra effort to convince the students that the changes in hostel charges are not only reasonable but vital for the financial viability of our hostels.
The letter by the teacher association read, “We cannot disagree more with the view that the changes in hostel charges are reasonable and necessary. We are all well aware of what our students are going through presently and the idea of urging them to accept such an exorbitant hike is reprehensible to us. Secondly, we hold you, and the Administration led by you, responsible for the disturbed atmosphere of the campus today. It is the Administration’s decision to impose in a highhanded manner the hike in charges and its consistent refusal to have any dialogue with the students that is the root cause of the present crisis.”
The letter also stated that there was no explanation given as to why the current protocol was shelved in favour of a self-financing system. Asking the VC the cause behind the move, they questioned the claim about the dearth of funds. “Is there some sudden cut in funds and if so, should it not be your responsibility as VC to appeal to the UGC and MHRD and to press on them the need for additional funds? If there is such a dearth of funds, how did the expenses on security increase by leaps and bounds in the last few years and why is so much being spent on introducing biometric systems in the University? Why did your Administration compel the University to accept transferring the responsibility of conducting the entrance examinations to the NTA, a move which has more than doubled the expenditure on these examinations? Is the burden of these several crores also going to be transferred to students?”
The teachers also spoke about the laughable ‘concession’ offered by the university for students from underprivileged backgrounds and accused the VC and administration of taking arbitrary decisions without consulting either the academic council or the teachers. They said that the current fee hike was just another abominable decision in a long list – seat cuts in research programmes, arbitrary changes to admission processes, disciplinary proceedings against faculty members and the abolition of GSCASH among others.
Strongly condemning the leadership, the teachers have asked Kumar to step down from the post of the VC. “We see the hike in hostel charges as another big step in the same direction of destroying the character of JNU as a public institution. The teachers of JNU who have seen this process unfolding before their eyes have through a public inquiry and through their referendum already expressed their clear opinionthat it would be in the best interests of the University that you step down from your position as Vice- Chancellor.”
The protests at JNU have been going on for almost three weeks without any conclusion. The situation had turned violent in the past week, with the students, police and media clashing with each other, While the administration claims to have announced a rollback in the fee hike, the JNU students claim that the same is only a sham and are demanding that there be a complete reversal of the same.
Related:
“Fee hike rollback is fake”: JNU students
JNU clashes reveal the government’s skewed priorities on higher education
Protesting JNU students target media, target female journalists