Students in Jawaharlal Nehru University have ensured a complete lockdown of the varsity and have not been allowing any of the staff or faculty to go inside the classrooms in order to resume their academic work. A video has now surfaced on social media on where the students have alleged that the administration is making plans to break the students' movement.
The video, released on Monday, has been reportedly taken at the Convention Centre while administrative staff were having a meeting on Monday morning discussing ways in which they can resume classes. Apeksha Priyadarshini, a member of students' organisation BASO and a councillor of the current JNU Students' Union told Edex that the video in question was sent to the students by a sympathiser among the staff, who was present during the meeting and wants to remain anonymous.
The video shows a JNU Karmachari (staff) speaking to the audience. "We have sufficient security on campus to ensure our staffs' safety. We can go inside the rooms with the help of security and get the doors opened, what will the students do then? They can't fight with us or can they? If they get into any kind of physical altercation or attempt to stop the staff with force, we can file FIRs against them. What's the problem?" the administration staff is heard saying in the video.
Protesting students at the varsity have alleged that the university administration is planning, conspiring to stop the movement. "Look at the JNU Administration's deviousness. Look at how brazenly they connive to lodge FIRs against students. Nothing can be more lowly than their desires to silence us. But we will fight, and fight hard. This is an appeal to all students to stay put and stay resolute. We will not let this battle go into the hands of this inhuman VC," says Apeksha in one of her Facebook posts along with the video in question. All India Students' Association president and ex-JNUSU president N Sai Balaji has termed their actions in the video to be shameful. "JNU administration officials are planning to instigate a riot in JNU. How shameful can it get?" asks Balaji.
Meanwhile, post-graduate students of the School of Arts and Aesthetics and the entire School of Languages are boycotting their exams which are scheduled from December 12. The JNU administration is removing students from the rolls if they do not meet the academic requirements for the semester exams. The JNU registrar has asked the faculty to conduct their lectures to ensure that students fulfil the requirements to write the end semester exams on December 12. "All the school buildings are open. All the faculty members are requested to conduct their lectures and other academic activities. It is important to ensure that students fulfil all their academic requirements to be eligible to write the end semester exams which are scheduled to start on December 12, 2019", the administration said in a statement.
