Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Maken, students meet President over JNU admission policy

The students - part of the Congress’ student wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) - submitted a memorandum to the President who is also the Visitor to the university.

Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Ajay Maken along with a group of JNU students met President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday over the issue of recent amendments in the university’s admission policy.

JNU’s administrative block. The delegation sought the intervention of the President to ensure that there is no seat cut in the university. (Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times)

The students - part of the Congress’ student wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) - submitted a memorandum to the President who is also the Visitor to the university.

“UGC notification on admission rules for PhD and MPhil programme has been imposed on the JNU community in the most undemocratic manner, systematically violating all norms of Academic Council (AC) and other decision-making bodies,” the memorandum said.

“Massive seat cuts and changes in the policy are being put in place that will strongly affect the students community without even seeking their opinions,” it added.

The delegation sought the intervention of the President to ensure that there is no seat cut in the university and any amendments in the admission policy are made after wide consultations with the statutory bodies.

JNU administration and the student community have been at loggerheads ever since the decision was made last December.

While the university had clarified that the amendments will not be implemented retrospectively and will not impact the current students, the students union has been blockading the administrative block demanding rollback of the decision.