JNU teachers tell MHRD committee that VC is 'root cause' of all the trouble

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) told the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) appointed 'high power' committee that the Vice-Chancellor, Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, is to blame for the entire lockdown and students' protests at the varsity.

The JNUTA President, Dr DK Lobiyal, said that the teachers discussed the issues at the university with the committee in detail. "We spoke about the issues that are there at present and also discussed how it can be resolved. We have made our point very clearly to the committee — we feel that all the issues can be traced back to one root cause, the VC. He doesn't listen to anybody and if he is there then we can never attain normalcy at JNU no matter what else the committee suggests," said Dr Lobiyal. "The committee promised to come to a decision as soon as possible," he added.

Meanwhile, the JNUSU called for the Citizens' March from Mandi House which is set to start at 11 am on Saturday. Their demands remain the same. They want the fees to be rolled back to what it was. They are also protesting against the fellowship cut, decrease in education budget etc in institutes like JNU IIT and DU among other universities and even schools in India. They are also protesting against the New Education Policy and wants affordable and equitable education for all. This, the students said was a call to save public education.

The MHRD appointed 'high power' committee that is supposed to visit the university on Friday, November 22, might also face a mass demonstration from the students. Though they have decided on a final course of action the JNUSU Vice-President Saket Moon confirmed that the students will hold demonstrations in the university when the committee members visit. 

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."