MHRD claims JNUSU 'responded positively' in meeting but students to carry on protest

Though the MHRD said that they appealed to the students to restore normalcy on the campus immediately and the students responded positively
JNU Students Protest
JNU Students Protest

The students' union of the Jawaharlal Nehru University met the 'high power' committee appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development on November 20 to discuss the demands of the students and restore normalcy in the varsity. Even though the ministry claimed that the students have agreed to their appeal, the students said that there is no question of backing down from their demands unless the Vice-Chancellor or the administration takes cognisance of his actions and accepts their demands.

The JNU Students' Union President, Aishe Ghosh said that the students want their VC to address their concerns, "We will definitely ensure that normalcy is brought back on campus. But first, we need the VC to talk to us and we need assurance from the university or the MHRD that the hostel manual and fee hike will be taken back — a complete rollback."

After the meeting that lasted over three hours, the MHRD tweeted, "The Committee appealed to the students to restore normalcy on the campus immediately for which the students responded positively." The entire students' council met the newly appointed three-member committee constituting former UGC Chairman, Dr VS Chauhan, AICTE Chairman Dr Anil Sashasrabuddhe and UGC Secretary Dr Rajnish Jain.

Apeksha Priyadarshini, a member of Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students' Organisation (BASO) at JNU said that the committee listened to all their demands patiently but there was no conclusion at the end of the meeting. "They listened to all our demands and also agreed with us that there needs to be a dialogue but they had no answer when we asked them why the VC and the Registrar denied appearing in front of an MHRD-appointed committee," she added. "The committee said that the Deans have had a meeting with them. But that's it. The VC and the Registrar did not appear," she added.

The order, signed by Under Secretary PK Singh, appointed former UGC Chairman, Dr VS Chauhan, AICTE Chairman Dr Anil Sashasrabuddhe and UGC Secretary Dr Rajnish Jain "to initiate dialogue with the students and the university administration immediately and submit recommendations of actions to be taken". The order also said that the UGC will provide all the necessary support required. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
EdexLive
www.edexlive.com