IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, Feb 14: Several hundred students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday took out a massive protest march towards the Parliament House here in Delhi over reported seat cuts in MPhil and PhD courses at JNU and other central universities.
“We want students, Not cut in admissions, JNUTA” reads a placard held by a teacher of JNU at the protest march jointly organized by JNU Teachers Association and JNU Students Union.
The protest was in the wake of the announcement by JNU that it would implement the University Grants Commission’s May 2016 admission notification which limits number of researchers/scholars under each professor and associate professor.
Hundreds of students, teachers of JNU holding a protest march in Delhi.
Several Members of Parliament and leaders of CPI, Congress and JD(U) also took part in the protest march. They included Digvijaya Singh of Congress, D Raja of CPI and Ali Ahmed Ansari of JD-U.
Students and teachers say if the notification is implemented, it will result in massive cut in seats at various centres and faculties.
The JNUTA General Body has demanded the Vice-Chancellor of JNU “to ensure that the intake figures already approved by the Academic Council for each Centre/School/Special Centre and incorporated in the draft prospectus circulated to Centres are retained for the 2017-18 admissions.”
JNU teachers participating in protest march against UGC admission policy in Delhi.
It also said that no changes should be made in Admission Policy without the approval of the Academic Council and urged the university administration to reconvene the 142nd Academic Council no later than 16th Feb to reconsider all agenda items pertaining to the admission policy of the university.
JNU Students Union has also opposed the new admission policy.
“The JNU VC is shockingly announcing arbitrary decisions and fundamental changes in JNU’s admission policy and research programmes through press conferences – refusing either to discuss these in JNU’s decision-making bodies like AC/EC, or to meet students’ and teachers’ representatives,” JNUSU said in a statement on Tuesday.
Students have also held a sit-in outside the Administrative Bloc at the JNU.
Reacting over the continued protests and blockade, JNU VC M. Jagadesh Kumar, in a statement today said: “It is time for the University community to come forward and save the institution from detractors and agitators who appear hellbent upon making JNU dysfunctional. Ever since the evening of 9 February 2017, the entire Administration building is under seize by JNUSU led students occupying the space inside the building and some other student groups blocking entry and exit from outside.”
Digvijaya Singh of Congress, D Raja of CPI and Ali Ahmed Ansari of JD-U participated in protest march of JNU teachers, students in Delhi.
“This illegal occupation of the administrative building is a criminal offense since a government building is occupied and government employees are prevented from doing their duties by the agitating students,” he said.
With regard to 2016 UGC gazette notification on MPhil and PhD admissions, he said: “We have amply made it clear in all our previous meetings that it is mandatory for all Universities to follow. The UGC too has confirmed this. As explained in the attached note by the Director of Admissions, our admission policy includes all the socially inclusive past practices of JNU within the parameters of the UGC gazette notification…”
“With regard to student intake, the number of vacancies in MPhil and PhD are tied to the number of faculty on roll in the University. From the coming session, the number of vacancies will be calculated based on the upper caps given in 2016 UGC gazette,” said the VC.
For more than two weeks, some students are on indefinite hunger strike against the new admission policy.
