JNU: Call for protest in support of an extension for terminal MPhil and PhD batches 

The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration released a circular, following the UGC's notice that had provided the terminal students with an extension of six months; students say not enough
Protest image from December 19 | (Pic: Apeksha Priyadarshini)
Protest image from December 19 | (Pic: Apeksha Priyadarshini)

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) called for a protest in solidarity with the demand for an extension by terminal MPhil and PhD batches of the University today, December 19. The university administration has given these students a deadline of December 31 to submit their work and vacate their hostel or deregister from their course. These terminal research students were also the ones most affected by the pandemic. "The students lost one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic and got only a few months in extension," says Anagha Pradeep, a JNU student. The students protested in front of the University Grants Commission (UGC) office today at noon. 

On May 26, 2022, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration released a circular, following the UGC's notice that had provided the terminal students with an extension of six months which the students say is not enough. The notice states, "In pursuance of UGC Public Notice...a further extension of six months beyond 30.06.2022, i.e. till 31st December, 2022 has been granted for submission of dissertation/thesis by terminal M.Phil./M.Tech./Ph.D. students of the university."

Apeksha Priyadarshini, a PhD student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), says, "The academic work was seriously hampered during the pandemic. With libraries and archives shut, students couldn't do much. How are six months enough to cover a course work of more than a year that was lost? Even the university was shut for one and a half years."

She informs that the university is passing the blame on the terminal students for the lack of hostel facility available on campus. When these MPhil and PhD students met the Vice-Chancellor (VC) on December 15, the V-C cited the lack of hostel rooms as one of the reasons for disallowing their extension. Apeksha adds, "The V-C was extremely discouraging. Moreover, the onus of accommodating new batches is not on the terminal students. It is not their fault that the campus does not have enough hostels to provide." 

Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA), JNU released a statement on December 17, reminding the JNU administration of the perils individuals faced during the pandemic. BAPSA further stated,"...the administration has unfairly asked the terminal PhD and MPhil students of JNU to either avail 9B according to the ordinance or vacate the hostel by December 31." The statement also criticised the protest by JNUSU on December 19 as too late for these students who are already under a lot of stress and anxiety with the deadline only less than two weeks away. 

Further, the terminal MPhil batch is the last batch for the course. As per the new PhD admission guidelines under the New Education Policy (NEP), 2020, MPhil has been scrapped. “The last batch of MPhil students are being treated like their course is redundant. Their two years programme was shrunk to one-and-a-half years,” adds Apeksha, adding, “As a part of the larger protest, we believe the MPhil should be retained as a degree. It gives a buffer period for coursework that a PhD does not provide. Scrapping of MPhil will decline the quality of PhD work produced.”

Echoing Apeksha’s words, the BAPSA wrote in their statement, “Without an extension, they will be forced to deregister and drop out (a likely possibility for MPhil students since NEP2020 abandoned the MPhil) by losing several years of their academic life.”

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