India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18— Demanding complete rollback of the hostel fee hike, which is said to be around 1000%, several hundred students of Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday carried out a march to Parliament. However, they were stopped by the police on way to Parliament. Hundreds of the protesters were detained and taken to nearby police station. Today was the first day of the Winter Session of the Parliament.
As hundreds of students tried to march, barricades were put in place by Delhi Police and a massive deployment of personnel was reinforced around the JNU campus. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CRPC was also imposed on the campus.
With posters in hands and chanting anti-fee hike slogans, hundreds of students marched on the streets of the national capital.
Heavy deployment of police to stop JNU students’ protest against hostel fee hike on Nov 18, 2019 (Photo – Masihuzzama Ansari/India Tomorrow)
Commenting on the heavy deployment of police forces ahead of the students’ march, JNUSU Vice President Saket Moon tweeted: “Reports coming in of 2000+ CRPF personnel deployed to impose an #EmergencyInJNU. What is it about unarmed and defenceless students marching across the streets of Delhi that @mamidala90 and @AmitShah so afraid of?”
On November 13, two days after the massive protest by JNU students against the drastic hostel fee hike and with students unions from across the country extending support to JNU students, the university’s executive committee partially rolled back the proposed hostel fee hike and also proposed a scheme for economic assistance to students from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). However, the JNU Students Union rejected the partial roll-back terming it as “nothing but eyewash.”
Police trying to stop JNU students’ protest against hostel fee hike on Nov 18, 2019 (Photo – Masihuzzama Ansari/India Tomorrow)
“Executive Committee announces major rollback in the hostel fee and other stipulations. Also proposes a scheme for economic assistance to the EWS students. Time to get back to classes,” R. Subrahmanyam, Union Education Secretary, tweeted on Wednesday.
The move comes after the executive committee of the university met to discuss the hostel draft manual which has been at the heart of the controversy that brought the varsity to boil.
In the proposed hostel draft manual, the JNU administration had massively hiked the hostel, mess and security fee. It had also limited the hostel timings.
Hundreds of JNU students protest against hostel fee hike on Nov 18, 2019 (Photo – Masihuzzama Ansari/India Tomorrow)
As per the proposal, the university wanted to increase the monthly rental of Rs 20 for a single-seater room to Rs 600 and the monthly rent of Rs 10 for double-seater room to Rs 300. The university also wanted to increase the advance security deposit of Rs 5,400 for mess to Rs 12,000. But now they have partially rolled back the proposed fee hike.
On November 11, hundreds of JNU students had clashed with the police as their protest over the steep fee hike escalated outside the convocation venue of the university.
After the partial roll-back of the fee hike, JNU Students Union Vice President Saket Moon took to Twitter to say the students will not accept the partial rollback.
“No changes in proposed rules on hostel curfew, dress code, massive late fines and punishments, exorbitant fines on protests, and the COMPLETE ABSENCE of reservation policies in the hostel manual,” he tweeted.
“Our calculations show that the Fee Hike is still happening, from 999% and 911% annually to 823.36% and 819.85% annually. This rollback is nothing but eyewash, and is completely unacceptable,” said Saket Moon.
