New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar Friday appealed to students to call off their protest against the hostel fee hike and said a dialogue “cannot be dictated through coercion and illegal methods”.
The V-C’s appeal came a day after a yet-to-be-unveiled statue of Vivekananda, outside the administrative building, was allegedly vandalised. On Wednesday, the administrative building was defaced with graffiti and “anti- administration” slogans. The administration, on Thursday night, filed a police complaint into both incidents.
Student groups have been protesting for the past three weeks against changes to the hostel manual and a proposed hostel fee hike. On Monday, around 1,500 students had gathered outside the AICTE building, where the university’s third convocation was being held, and blocked Union human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, the V-C and other dignitaries from leaving the premises for several hours. They were later rescued by police.
Referring to that protest, Kumar said, “No civilised society, let alone a higher academic institution of the stature of JNU, would bear such abominable activities and behaviour by its members.”
JNU students’ union (JNUSU) president Aishe Gosh termed the V-C’s appeal a “tactic”. “This is just a tactic. We are going to escalate our protest. The union is mulling a protest outside Parliament when the winter session begins,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}JNU students’ union (JNUSU) president Aishe Gosh termed the V-C’s appeal a “tactic”. “This is just a tactic. We are going to escalate our protest. The union is mulling a protest outside Parliament when the winter session begins,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Although the administration Wednesday partially rolled back the fee for students from below poverty line families, students demanded a complete withdrawal of the new hostel manual.
On Friday evening, JNUSU burnt the circular mentioning the revised fee structure. “We do not accept the revised fee. We will continue the protest till the manual is withdrawn,” JNUSU general secretary Satish Yadav said.
The V-C also requested teachers to convince students to accept that the new fee. “It is our duty to keep JNU on the path of becoming a globally renowned university for which peace and normalcy have to be restored on campus,” he said.