As COVID cases continue to surge, the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration is believed to have put a blanket lockdown on libraries and reading rooms. Moreover, students claim that the on-campus Wi-Fi facilities have been disrupted since Friday, leading to missed deadlines and online lectures.
While students want the libraries to be kept open at 50 per cent capacity, their primary concern right now is the internet service as mobile network across campus has always been poor. JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh said that the varsity administration needs to address these problems on a priority basis. She said, "Students have already missed out on their deadlines. There are already a lot of network issues within the JNU campus so students also missed out on today's (Jan 3) morning lectures online because Wi-Fi has not been restored yet."
The students believe that while many public places in the city and on JNU campus are allowed to function at 50 per cent capacity, it is irrational of the varsity to put libraries on complete lockdown. Ghosh said, "The campus is open, everything is open. We can go outside the campus. Is COVID only going to spread if we sit inside the libraries at half the capacity?"
She claimed that many students have now been vaccinated with a double dose against COVID-19. "We know that Omicron is a problem despite that but it is not as though the university is stopping our deadlines. We are still expected to study. Our deadline for the MPhill thesis is January 31. How do we do that without access to books, access to libraries or Wi-Fi?"
JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) Secretary Dr Moushumi Basu also believes that the decision is arbitrary. "It is unfortunate. We have a big enough library to accommodate people. The fact that the library was the first to be declared closed while everything else is open is very strange. Students can observe COVID protocols." Basu reiterated what Ghosh told Edexlive that this time of the year is when research scholars have their deadlines around the corner. "This will adversely affect them," she said.
It is noteworthy that the University Grants Commission (UGC) came out with a circular earlier last month wherein the deadline for submission of MPhil/PhD thesis has been extended till June 30, 2022. However, Basu added that the JNU administration came out with an additional circular in this regard. The JNU circular states that those who wish to avail this extension need to get another certification from their supervisor. "It is a bit strange," Basu added.
We have reached out to the varsity for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
