Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
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Admission policy
2017-18 norms
See graphic.
"The deprivation point model"
Manash Gohain, JNU may drop deprivation points, Mar 19, 2017: The Times of India
The Delhi high court dismissed JNU students' plea against the University Grants Commission's (UGC) notification and said that the commission's guidelines are “binding“ on all universities without any “deviation“. This would mean that the unique feature of the JNU admission policy -the deprivation point model -will no longer be applicable to admissions to research programmes, said a senior JNU official.
According to UGC norms, 100% weightage should be given to viva-voce (oral exam) for admissions to MPhil and PhD courses. JNU currently follows 70:30 weightage for the written test and the interview.
“... the binding nature of the said regulations is not dependent upon it being adopted or accepted by the respondent university or any other university in the country . In other words, the (UGC) regulations are binding on the university by operation of law, i.e., UGC Act, 1956,“ the court said.
Following protests by students against the oral exam, the JNU administration negotiated and agreed for 80% weightage for the written exam. But, with the court's verdict, even this model will not be possible, the official said.
This would mean doing away with the deprivation point model, which facilitates entry of students, especially women from backward regions. In fact, 26 more districts were included in the scheme and aspirants from these regions would get an additional five points, the official added.
Student leaders, however, are planning to move the court against Thursday's verdict. Mohit Pandey , president, JNUSU said, “The university counsel has not placed the complete facts about the notification on admission policy before court. Therefore, we don't agree with the verdict and will move the division bench.“
The university officials, however, said that the deprivation point model will continue for the undergraduate and masters' programmes.
“We tried to bring out the most inclusive policy within the given framework, but the students didn't cooperate with us and moved the court.Now, the university has no option but to implement the UGC notification in letter and spirit,“ said another senior official.
Student: professor ratio
HC upholds student: professor ratio/ 2017
Students' plea against admission policy junked, March 17, 2017: The Times of India
The JNU administration on Thursday won a major relief from the Delhi high court when it dismissed a plea by students challenging its latest admission policy of putting a cap on number of students per professor for MPhil and PhD courses.
Justice V K Rao said that the varsity's admission norms have to follow the University Grants Commission (UGC) notification of last year and it cannot deviate from these norms.
HC observed that “the binding nature of the said regulations is not dependent upon it being adopted or accepted by the respondent university or any other university in the country . In other words, the regulations are binding on the university by operation of law, i.e., UGC Act of 1956.“
The students had claimed that proper procedure was not followed by JNU while adopting the UGC notification but the court rejected this argument and reminded the students that the UGC Act, under which the regulation was issued, has been enacted by Parliament and prevails over any individual rules or Act framed by the university laying down procedure of admission.
The students had submitted that the regulation only sets out minimum standards to be followed and it was for JNU to decide how to implement them. But HC noted that “The UGC having framed the regulations, vide the notification of 2016, the varsity is required to follow the same. It is legally impermissible for JNU to formulate its own admission policy in violation of UGC Act and the regulations,“ it said.
HC, however, agreed that JNU's decision to change the weightage, for admission to the two courses, in the ratio of 80:20 of written and viva voce, was a deviation from the regulations and could not have been allowed, a stand that was later accepted by the administration during arguments.
JNU had maintained in court that the UGC Notification (Regulations) shall apply to every university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act etc, and is binding and is mandatorily to be followed by all universities including JNU.
HC questions JNU’s student-teacher ratio/ 2018
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi:
The Delhi high court on Thursday questioned the logic behind JNU’s student-teacher ratio after it tightened norms for admission to MPhil and PhD courses.
HC’s observations came after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said there are 399 students enrolled for its MPhil and PhD courses, whereas its faculty strength is over 500 teachers.
“You have tightened your norms, so the intake has dried up. At this rate, JNU is going to be a unique university where there would be three to four teachers for every one student,” a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla pointed out.
HC also questioned the minimum cap set by JNU on number of students per research supervisor for MPhil and PhD courses in various subjects, saying this will “shut down teaching.”
Under the new admission norms, there is a cap, and reduction in seats because of a UGC regulation. The move had led to a series of agitations in the varsity by the students. It had also led to petitions filed in court challenging the new rules. On Thursday, HC reserved its verdict on a plea by the Students Federation of India (SFI) challenging the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations on the eligibility and manner of admission to MPhil and PhD courses in the country.
In its defence, JNU argued that the teachers often go on sabbatical or worked on books or articles. But the bench was not satisfied and remarked that “on one hand you don’t want to spend on students, but you are willing to spend on teachers... Let them go, if they are not going to work.”
Campus
Rock carvings
See Delhi: J for more about the 'mediaeval' rock carvings discovered in the JNU campus.
Convocations
1972
The Jawaharlal Nehru University is set to host its second convocation after an interval of 46 years. The university’s one and only such event — in 1972 — is best known for the controversy it stirred due to a “radical speech” given by the then students’ union president, V C Koshy.
The union had earlier refused to allow any “outsider” to give a speech on the campus, and had relented only when actor Balraj Sahni, known for his leaning towards the Left, was invited.
S C Garkoti, JNU rector-II, on Monday said the latest plan to revive the convocation was an effort towards “celebrating the positive aspects of the university”. He told TOI: “We will distribute awards to PhD students and send them off in a dignified manner.” The date for the event is yet to be finalised, but it is likely to take place in the last week of February. “We want to encourage students to have a proper send-off and not submit their PhD theses and disappear,” Garkoti said.
The university is yet to decide on who will give the convocation address. “Usually, it’s the visitor of the university — which, in our case, is the President of India. But if he’s not available, we will look for another senior personality,” he said.
Suneet Chopra, founding member of SFI at JNU, recalled the 1972 event: “Our plan was to launch a two-pronged attack on the administration. Initially, we had planned to oppose any outsider from speaking at the event. It was later when they suggested Sahni’s name that we agreed, as we had started a film festival on the campus that year and shown his films.”
Koshy’s speech, Chopra said, was vetted by the administration. “But we changed it (the speech) at night and decided to applaud specific portions. The idea was to get media attention,” he said.
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, professor of JNU’s Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory, was also a student back then. He said Koshy’s speech wasn’t controversial, “but for the media, words like calling the state a bourgeois landlord and criticising the capitalist class at a convocation was something new ”.
Indeed, it led to an outcry, prompting JNU to scrap the convocation programme itself — until now.
Chenoy also claimed that Sahni was “quite happy with (Koshy’s) speech.” During his own speech, Sahni questioned students’ “slavish mentality” even as he criticised “the same system of education that was designed by Macaulay and Co to breed clerks and mental slaves”. Sahni spoke of how a “large majority of students in universities are losing faith in the system of education”. The speech was considered by many, including Chenoy, to be “radical” for a convocation.
Interestingly, Koshy no longer stays in India. “He has been out of India for years and currently lives in New York,” Chenoy said.
Balraj Sahni’s address: excerpts
See graphic:
Balraj Sahni’s convocation address at JNU in 1972- excerpts
From: Mohammad Ibrar, JNU to revive convocation: Here’s why it stirred up a hornet’s nest 46 yrs ago, January 30, 2018: The Times of India
Fees
2017/ Entrance fees hiked, after 13 years, by 27%
After 13 yrs, JNU hikes entrance fees by 27%, Jan 23, 2017: The Times of India
JNU aspirants will now have to shell out more money to appear for the varsity's entrance examination as the fees for it have been increased by 27% from the upcoming academic session.
According to officials of the varsity's admission department, a decision in this regard was taken at a recent meeting of the academic council followed by the executive council.
However, the hike will not be applicable to candidates of reserved categories including SCST, physically disabled and Below Poverty Line.
“The fees for the entrance examination has been increa sed after 13 years. Prior to this, the fees structure was revised in 2003,“ an official said. “General Category , OBC students and applicants from abroad will also have to pay according to the new fees structure,“ he added.
Earlier, the application fees for BA programme was Rs 420, and for choosing one and additional programmes was Rs 630 and 800 respectively . Now, it has been hiked upto Rs 530, Rs 800 and Rs 1,000. Similarly , fees for MPhil, PhD, MTech, MSc, MCA and MA programmes, which were Rs 300 are now Rs 400.For additional disciplines, the candidates will have to pay Rs 575 and Rs 750 respectively.
Library
Highlights, as in 2018
From: Mohammad Ibrar, JNU slashes library funds from ₹8cr to ₹1.7cr, research to be hit, November 22, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
Effects of fund crunch on JNU library
2018: library funds reduced from ₹8cr to ₹1.7cr
Students And Teachers Oppose Move; Backers Want ‘Alternative Narrative’
JNU has cut down its library fund from Rs 8 crore to Rs 1.7 crore. This might result in Dr B R Ambedkar Central Library cancelling important journals and research material, which would hit students hard.
The library committee’s meeting on November 16 saw many faculty members oppose certain decisions, including fund cuts.
JNUSU said in a statement: “Due to the fund cut, the auto renewal of e-journals, e-subscriptions like Jstor, Sage and others are not going to be renewed, meaning closure of research in JNU from January.”
This was corroborated by Ghazala Jamil, law and governance professor and representative in the library committee. “The committee will be writing to the journals and databases asking them not to continue with with the subscriptions in from January as payment won’t be possible,” she said.
Jamil said the discontinuation of the journals and databases has been going on for some time and students and faculty members were asked to only specify the journals and databases they need.
“This was done after the committee did some assessment and found that there are a few journals that are not used so much. The committee then decided to discontinue these journals. But while doing research, students and even faculty members need information from multiple sources. There have been times when we have had to request fellow academicians from foreign universities for the data,” Jamil said.
Registrar Pramod Kumar told TOI that there is no fund cut as claimed. “JNU has only UGC as funding source. And we can do so much as the funds in our hands,” he said, adding that the university is looking at tying up with libraries of other universities to meet demands of students.
Some have also supported the cuts. Andrew M. Lynn, Dean of School of Computational and Integrative Science said, “It will be useful as it will allow an alternative narrative to gain hold—that library resources should be prioritised for alternative uses and not be used for toll-access subscription models practised by publishers.”
Sexual harassment and gender issues
2015: services of an assistant professor terminated
The Times of India Dec 22 2015
Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday terminated services of an assistant professor after a varsity inquiry committee found him guilty in a case of alleged sexual harassment filed by a foreign scholar pursuing research under him.
The decision was taken at an emergent meeting of Jawaharlal Nehru University's Executive Council, the varsity's statutory decision making body .
The complainant was pursuing research under the professor's supervision.
“A research scholar, working under the supervision of the professor, had alleged that she was sexually abused by the professor.Subsequently , an inquiry was instituted by the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), the university watchdog for dealing with such issues,“ an official source said.
Sexual harassment complaints: 2015-16
At JNU, record sexual abuse plaints last yr, Oct 04 2016 : The Times of India
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) received 39 complaints of sexual harassment in the 2015-16 academic year, highest in the university's history.
Apart from a gradual increase in the number of complaints in recent years, the university has been at the centre of controversy recently with complaints and FIRs being lodged against JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) office bearers, including its president.
The report was submitted to the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently . In 2014-15, the university had received 26 sexual harassment complaints and in 2013-14, the number was 25.
According to the 2015-16 annual report of Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment, a central body which deals with complaints of this nature from all university departments, 42 complaints were received between January , 2015 and March, 2016.
2017: Internal Complaints replaces Gender Sensitisation; criticised
The replacement of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) with a UGC-ordained Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is seen by a section of students and teachers as a regressive move that gives the university administration more control and results in a lack of transparency because of inadequate representation from various sections of society .
The university , however, says it was acting as per UGC guidelines when it issued a notification on Tuesday on the formation of an ICC with former chief proctor Vibha Tandon as chairperson. But many in the students' and teachers' associations say the move will reduce checks and balances in the ICC as there is no provision to check conflict of interest.
The GSCASH, seen as a model for several institutions in India and abroad, was set up after the Supreme Court laid down guidelines on the prevention and deterrence of sexual harassment at the workplace.
The body , comprising of 23 members elected and nominated from all sections, came into being in 1999. It has inquired into over 40 cases of harassment annually .
The committee also inquires into sexual harassment complaints. But with the ICC comprising only three elected student representatives and six teachers and officials nominated by the vice-chancellor, critics have raised concerns about its independence.
Several teachers have also rejected the claim that GSCASH violates UGC norms.Teachers said “Saksham gui delines“ on gender issues were based on GSCASH norms.
Economics professor Surajit Mazumdar, who along with at least six others dissented at the council meeting, raised concerns about the “hurry“ to replace GSCASH with the ICC “without prior consultation.“
The professor believes the ICC's composition gives the authorities much greater power and calls it regressive “as it makes it less secure to complain and hope for redressal in cases of sexual harassment“.
However JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said, the decision was taken in compliance with the UGC orders. “The ICC has been created after much deliberation and discussion covering all aspects... it is an evolved system,“ he said. Kumar also responded to allegations about the possibility of bias and high-handedness. “Earlier, elected members would be from particular organisations with their own political agendas. But with nominated members there will be an assurance of impartiality when dealing with sexual harassment cases,“ Kumar said.
Professors
2017: 2nd chief proctor resigns within a year
Jan 25 2017, The Times of India
JNU chief proctor professor A P Dimri resigned on January 23 over alleged contentions with the vice-chancellor and other members of the university administration.
Dimri of the School of Environmental Sciences had investigated the assault on Najeeb Ahmed who has been missing since October 15.He had sent show-cause notices to four students, also members of ABVP . When contacted, Dimri confirmed his resignation but refused to spell out the reasons for it. Registrar Pramod Kumar, too, confirmed it and said Dimri “is one of the best academicians of our institutions and he may have resigned to focus more on his academic activities“. But sources close to Dimri said he was unhappy with the administration's behaviour. “He felt that the administration should introspect why the students have been continuously protesting ever since the VC was appointed. He believes JNU is known for a certain character and if the administration curbs the voices then the very character of the university would be jeopardi sed,“ said a source.
This is the second such instance of a chief proctor resigning at JNU in one year. Krishna Kumar had resigned as chief proctor after the February 9, 2016, controversy .
‘Overpayment’ to staff
…despite CAG objections, UGC rules
Manash Gohain, JNU ignored UGC rules, paid teacher in excess, February 7, 2018: The Times of India
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration may find itself in a spot over violation of University Grants Commission’s regulations regarding financial matters.
The university not only failed to comply with UGC’s order of October 2017 (a copy of which is with TOI) in recovering overpayment to a teacher of Rs 20.88 lakh, but even after accepting the objections of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) it sat on the matter till recovery became “time-barred”.
Sources said this could be just the tip of the iceberg as there are close to 100 cases, including that of a top JNU official, where past service has been counted for payments in violation of UGC regulations and the total overpayment could be worth several crores.
CAG, in its inspection report for the year 2014-15, pointed towards overpayment of Rs 16.51 lakh to a teacher as her past service had been counted and consequent promotion given to her in violation of UGC rules. TOI is in possession of these documents. “The university accepted the audit observation and stated that the promotion to the grade of assistant professor (senior scale) and associate professor granted to the faculty member were not in accordance with the UGC rules,” the CAG report states.
The report added, “Since the matter relates to undue financial benefit and overpayment to an employee from government funds, the matter is serious. The university should take immediate actions to (a) recover the excess payment of Rs 16.51 lakh… (b) the dates of promotion of these two scales may also be changed to the date of which the teacherbecame eligible as per UGC rules.”
The CAG audit revealed that not only was the overpayment of Rs 20.88 lakh not recovered, but the faculty member continued to be overpaid. The matter was also brought to the notice of K K Sharma, secretary (higher education), ministry of human resource development by M P Singh, director general of audit, central expenditure in June 2017.
The matter remained “unattended” by the JNU administration till the recovery became five years old and, hence, time-barred in terms of a Supreme Court’s judgment and DoPT’s office memorandum dated March 2, 2016. The five-year period of overpayment got over on May 29, 2017, following which JNU referred the matter (highlighted by CAG on May 10, 2016 and March 16, 2017) to UGC in September, 2017 (a copy of which is with TOI).
UGC, in its reply dated October 17, 2017, stated that “the matter was re-examined and found that the university has given promotion under CAS… by violating UGC regulations. UGC regulations on promotions are mandatory in nature. Any promotion in violation of these orders is irregular. You are, therefore, requested to immediately recover excess amount without any further delay and compliance report may be sent to UGC immediately.”
On receipt of UGC’s letter, the JNU vice-chancellor on November 7, 2017 issued a recovery order. But the executive council in its meeting on November 23, 2018 resolved “to authorise the VC to setup a committee to look into this case…” and “further resolved that the issue of recovery of arrears from… would be kept on hold till the receipt of response from CAG.”
Despite several calls and text messages with detailed queries on the matter to top officials of JNU administration, including the registrar, no response was received till filing of this report.
A highly placed source in the university said that “while the university left no stone unturned to rectify the UGC regulation’s violation in PhD and MPhil admissions leading to reduction in admission for the current year, the same administration didn’t act despite reminders received from CAG, UGC and MHRD asking for recovery.”
Storms in the JNU teacup
2017: Dhaba timings
JNU relents on dhaba timings, June 13, 2017: The Times of India
After JNUSU's `tea protest' against closing of dhabas on campus by 11pm, a Campus Development Committee (CDC) on Monday decided that the timings would be relaxed.
Students' union claimed that the administration, without any notification or circular, was sending guards at midnight and was asking the dhabas to shut down. This created a lot of trouble for students on campus who stay up late, they said.
However, JNU rector Chintamani Mahapatra said that there was no such `forceful' closure. “Dhabas were asked to respect the contract where they had promised to follow a schedule. There was an attempt to remind them of that.“
The meeting held decided that places like 247 near the Sabarmati dhaba could function till 1 am, while the dhabas serving tea and snacks could stay open till later at night.
“We demand that there should be regular CDC meetings on student's requests and hope that the decisions taken on Monday would not be struck down by the VC,“ students said.
2018: Students (and teachers) strike against compulsory attendance
March 20, 2018: The Times of India
JNU teachers split into two over attendance row
Group Of 40 Teachers Questions Students’ Stir Over Issue
TIMES NEWS NETWORK | IndiaTimes/ The Times of India
In Feb 2018, JNU Students went on strike against compulsory attendance
The row over compulsory attendance has split teachers at Jawaharlal Nehru University into two. Even as members of the JNU Teachers’ Association sat on a dharna against the “lack of dialogue” on the campus, another group of 40 “concerned teachers” came out “to clear the misinformation spread about recent incidents”.
While JNUTA members protested against the vice-chancellor’s accusation that they were “tacitly supporting” the students over the attendance issue, the group of 40 teachers was joined by the chief proctor in his “individual capacity”. The students’ strike, meanwhile, moved into the second week. JNUTA members the letters that they claimed to have written to the VC since February 12, requesting a meeting. “None of our pleas were answered,” Sudhheer Suthar, JNUTA secretary, claimed. He said it was only after JNUTA sent out invites to the media for a press conference on Monday did the administration invite them for talks.
On the issue of attendance that has sparked protests on the campus, a JNUTA member claimed that “much like other policy changes, the matter was never discussed or passed at the academic council meet”. JNUTA members also rejected the VC’s claims that the attendance issue was discussed and passed by a majority opinion of the academic council. They claimed that this “policy change” was one of the “examples in the last two years where AC proceedings have been circumvented”. Another teacher said that it was not about making attendance a must but the manner in which the rule was imposed that was questionable.
The other faction of teachers, however, countered these charges. They cited a 1970 ordinance that, they claimed, talked of “tracking attendance”. JNUTA members, in turn, claimed that attendance records were always maintained at the university and the new system was only substituting one that was already functioning well. “When UGC was thinking of evaluating semester attendance, it took the idea from JNU’s system,” JNUTA president Sonajharia Minz said.
The administration has rubbished allegations that compulsory attendance would victimise students, a view seconded by the other faction of teachers.
Many teachers had taken classes in the open in support of the protest
Axe falls on seven centre heads, dean
A professor of Persian will head the School of Arts and Aesthetics, a professor of Spanish will be at the helm in the Centre of French Studies, while an Arabic professor will similarly manage things at the Centre for Linguistics in Jawaharlal Nehru University. These faculty changes were effected on Thursday after seven centre chairpersons and one dean received letters late on Wednesday divesting them of responsibilities for “not complying with and implementing” the controversial compulsory attendance rule.
The order for the incumbents’ ouster, signed by A D Bahuguna, section officer (Academics), stated, “The Executive Council in its 272nd meeting held on March 13 … authorised the vice-chancellor to replace the existing deans of schools/ chairpersons of centres who have not complied with, or refused to, implement the attendance system in the university with the acting deans/chairpersons.”
The eight affected faculty members complained that they should have been first served show-cause notices. “I got a message from my colleague at 9.30pm about the orders mailed to him. I too checked
my mail and found I had been removed as dean of the arts and aesthetics school and replaced by professor Mazhar Ashraf from the Persian centre,” Kavita Singh told TOI.
Ashraf said the university administration sent him a mail on Thursday appointing the acting dean of the arts and aesthetics school. When asked about the students alleging he was not qualified for the post, Ashraf retorted, “The JNU Act lists the qualification required of someone who is a dean.”
Predictably, there was chaos on the campus on Thursday when students and teachers came out in large numbers against the orders. Students of the arts and aesthetics school blocked the entrance to their department, with one of them declaring, “This has happened because our dean supported us when we protested against the arbitrary implementation of compulsory attendance.”
Former JNUTA president Ayesha Kidwai was clear that “Ashraf’s appointment is against the rule” since “Rule 15 of the Academic Rules and Regulations to appoint an acting head of centres requires the sitting deans to be consulted”.
JNUTA has called a general body meeting on March 16 to chalk out its response to the order. Despite repeated attempts through phone calls and email, the JNU administration did not respond to the allegations.
2018: lockdown against compulsory attendance
JNUSU calls off lockdown after 23 days, April 10, 2018: The Times of India
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union (JNUSU) called off its lockdown of five school and centre buildings after over 23 days.
While the union has pointed out that protests against compulsory attendance will continue in a ‘centralised manner’, the teacher’s union has started constructing outdoor class spaces for those still unwilling to enter the building.
The union resolution stated that in the council meeting on Sunday, it was unanimously decided academic activities should continue, as the student community across centres were deeply concerned regarding their scholarships, the upcoming end semester examinations, and submission of thesis and dissertations.
A research student had filed a petition in the high court alleging that he was unable to attend classes since February and his studies were getting affected.
In the meanwhile, the high court termed as “unfortunate and sad” that classes in JNU are being held on staircases due to an ongoing agitation. Justice Rekha Palli rued the joint stir by students and teachers and said the manner in which the students are being stopped is “very unfortunate.”
The court was hearing a plea by five professors of JNU challenging the December 12, 2017 decision of the varsity's Academic Council making 75% attendance mandatory for students.
2018 ‘Referendum’: 93% of teachers wanted VC to go
‘Referendum’ in JNU: 93% of teachers want VC to go, August 8, 2018: The Times of India
Over 93% of the JNU teachers who voted in a ‘referendum’ on Tuesday want the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s vice-chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar, to go. At least 96% of the voters are also against taking a loan from Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).
Out of the 586 faculty members, 300 took part in the exercise on the campus. While 279 teachers voted against the VC and his policies, eight supported him. Similarly, 288 voters opposed the loan while four backed it.
JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) asked the teachers to vote on whether the VC should stay and if the HEFA loan should be taken for new engineering school hostels as JNU won’t be able to pay it back.
JNUTA invited external observers, including geographer MH Qureshi, scientist PK Yadava, economist Arun Kumar and writer Chaman Lal, all retired professors as well as ex-presidents of JNUTA.
According to JNUTA, the turnout was “surprising” despite “the general atmosphere of fear created by the administration” and heavy showers. It alleged that the university had been recently indulging in individual targeting. The ‘referendum’ is part of a series of protests by the teachers against the VC and his administration, “who, over the last two and a half years, have vitiated the academic environment of the campus”.
2020
Renaming roads after ideologues
March 18, 2020: The Times of India
From: March 18, 2020: The Times of India
From: March 18, 2020: The Times of India
From: March 18, 2020: The Times of India
From: March 18, 2020: The Times of India
Controversy never seems to leave Jawaharlal Nehru University alone. While students and university authorities are wrangling over the closure of hostels after suspension of classes due to the threat of the novel coronavirus, there is also an anachronistic war under way over signboards. After a lane was named after Hindutva stalwart V D Savarkar, the signboard was vandalised and the name of B R Ambedkar inscribed over it. But later, even that was the target of defacers, who blacked out the name and pasted a picture of Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the side.
The signboard was cleaned by the R S S-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, though the name of Ambedkar remained. The student organisation alleged that Jinnah’s picture was the handiwork of Left student groups, but said it didn’t know who had replaced Savarkar’s name with Ambedkar’s.
“The JNU administration took the decision last year to name the various roads on the campus. Therefore, the road near Subansir Hostel was named after Savarkar,” said ABVP JNU president Shivam Chaurasia. “However, the leftist students took midnight action to deface the road sign with the Mohammad Ali Jinnah poster.”
While condemning the act, Chaurasia also alluded to the left students painting graffiti on the walls of the administration block last year during the agitation against the hostel fee hike. Chaurasia, however, had no clue to who had inscribed the name of Ambedkar on the signboard.
It was JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh who, in a tweet at 1.11am on Tuesday, posted the image of the defaced signboard bearing Ambedkar’s name. Alongside she wrote, “We can never ever accept apologists and stooges of the British who undermined our secular fabric. Let’s respect those who gave us our Constitution.”
JNUSU itself denied involvement in the issue but declared, “JNU believes in the ideals of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar, not Savarkar or Jinnah as ABVP does” and charged the saffron student organisation with “crossing all levels of shamelessness” and “maligning JNU by circulating morphed images of the road in the name of Jinnah”.
JNU Teachers’ Federation, breakaway faction of JNU Teachers’ Association, condemned the vandalism and accused the miscreants of trying to “vitiate the peaceful environment” and called for the immediate identification and punishment.
JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar explained that the naming of different roads on the campus had been approved by the Executive Council based on the recommendations of the campus development committee in 2016. “In the past two years, several roads have been named after great personalities,” Kumar said. “Last night some miscreants indulged in defacing the road signage. This is highly regrettable. In an educational institution, one can disagree intellectually but stooping to such acts is unwarranted.”
Teacher: student ratio
2017/ Many Teachers Have More Students Than UGC Regulations
Manash Gohain, PG scholars in JNU not evenly allotted, Feb 10 2017 : The Times of India
Many Teachers Have More Students Than What UGC Regulations Permit
There are 89 professors in Jawaharlal Nehru University who are guiding 10 or more PhD candidates. Incredibly, 15 of them have 20 or more scholars under their wing. Not only is this against the University Grants Commission's stipulation of a professor guiding only eight doctorate students, but this is also highly skewed given that 191 other professors lead less than the mandated number.This was among the many glaring anomalies that the university revealed on Thursday to counter allegations that it was attempting to reduce the intake of research students.
For some time now, students have been charging the JNU administration with trying to reduce the number of seats available for research.“The administration has finally made it clear that it is all out to close admissions to the MPhil PhD programmes. The number of intake for the upcoming admissions, which are in violation of the appro ved intake decided in the Academic Council and according to court orders, have been re leased,“ alleged Pratim Ghoshal, JNU student and member of Democratic Students Forum (DSF).
Countering this, university officials claimed that the intake had been altered “within the prescribed norms“ to avoid the imbalance in the allotment of research scholars to each teacher. “MPhil and PhD are research programmes, so UGC decides the number of students a faculty can guide,“ explained M Jagadesh Kumar, vice-chancellor.“The policy dates back to 2009. A professor can guide eight PhD students, associate professors, six, and assistant professors, four scholars. But in our university , some teacher guide over 20 PhD students, even as some do not have a single PhD student. This imbalance is not good for the quality of research.“
The university data showed 15 assistant professors -allowed one MPhil and four PhD candidates -were in charge of five or more MPhil scholars and 44 had “extra“ PhD scholars. Thirteen of them had 10 or more PhD candidates, with one teacher guiding 23 PhD students. Among associate professors, 17 were guides to more than 10 PhD candidates and 19 to five or more MPhil students. This, when 69 associate professors did not have the stipulated MPhil numbers under their wing and 95 did not have the quota of six PhD scholars.
Will this imbalance affect the number of seats in the university? The vice-chancellor denied any step to reduce seats, but said that for the time being only those teachers who have vacancies will be allowed to enrol students.
“If a professor has more than 25 scholars, they will continue and complete their PhD programme under his her guidance,“ said Kumar.But if another professor has two instead of eight students, then he she can take six students. We aim to encourage the faculty to fill up these vacancies.“
Untoward incidents
Note: JNU remains India’s finest seat of higher learning and research in the social sciences. Its campus is quite peaceful and safe. The incidents mentioned below represent less than 1 per cent of JNU’s students. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the first entries about JNU on Indpaedia are about the seamier side. Indpaedia is unlikely to start accepting articles directly from its readers before 2014 or 2015. Till then JNU alumni, students and others can send articles/ paragraphs about the positive side of JNU as messages to facebook
'Different’ JNU loses sheen/ 2013
Cases Of Ragging, MMS Scandals, Clashes Haunt Campus
Manash Pratim Gohain TNN
The Times of India 2013/08/01
New Delhi: It always prided itself on being ‘different’ but recent cases of ragging, alleged rape, MMS scandals and clashes with cops have dented Jawaharlal Nehru University’s image. The July 2013 incident has shocked everyone associated with the university, and many see it as a low point that calls for introspection and action.
PREVIOUS CASES/ 2009-13
July 2013: Student, a jilted lover, tries to murder girl and then commits suicide
Jun 3, 2013: An alumnus held on allegation of rape of a student in Narmada hostel
Jun 3, 2012: MMS scandal
Feb 11, 2011: Porn CD scandal; 2 students expelled
Nov 23, 2009: Students clash with cops after a student was allegedly molested by outsiders
Aug 13: First incident of ragging where an MCA student lodged a complaint and university officials caught seniors red-handed
Spurt in molestation, stalking cases in JNU/ 2011-13
Raj Shekhar TNN
The Times of India 2013/08/01
Police say, JNU campus is not a particularly safe place. What’s worrying is the recent upswing in cases of molestation and stalking. Some gun-runners had confessed to delivering country-made pistols near Delhi University and JNU campuses to people who looked like students.
Sources say crimes against woman are frequently reported from the campus now.
In June 2013, a JNU alumnus was arrested for allegedly molesting and trying to rape a 21-year-old student inside Narmada Hostel after a party.
In June 2013, an English literature student was allegedly molested by two students of her class inside Lohit Hostel. A case of molestation was registered at Vasant Kunj police station and two men, Rajiv Kumar and Gautam Vashishth, were arrested. Recently, a 57-year-old canteen incharge was also arrested.
A foreign student had also alleged molestation on the campus. The girl was friendly with the accused, a PhD student. On the day the alleged incident occurred, she had lunch with him in his room before he molested her.
In October 2013, a PhD scholar at JNU’s School of Languages was suspended after he allegedly molested a girl inside a university hostel. The Vasant Vihar police registered a case. “The victim was a history student at DU and claimed she was invited to the accused’s room in JNU’s Brahmaputra Hostel where she was locked up and molested,” a police source said.
In November 2011, a 35-year-old PhD scholar was arrested for allegedly molesting his 14-year-old domestic help. The girl, who was from Odisha, worked for and lived with Mohammed Azimuddin and his wife at JNU’s Mahanadi Hostel.
Student violence during AC meeting?/ 2016
PTI, PROBE SOUGHT - JNU teachers allege violence during council meeting Oct 11 2016
A section of JNU teachers has accused the students union members of resorting to violence while a discussion on introduction of courses in yoga and Indian culture was going on at the academic council meeting last week.
They also alleged that the union members had attacked a teacher, who did not wish to be identified, during the meeting. The students union, however, denied the allegations.
“They shouted intimidatory and belligerent slogans to threaten, destroy and kill the professor. They had gone so berserk and unbridled that they banged the (professor's) car with the intention to injure or physically abuse the faculty,“ the teachers said in a complaint to the vicechancellor. When JNU security personnel tried to make way for the teacher's car, the students lay on the road to stop the vehicle, they claimed.
The professor has also filed a police complaint at Vasant Kunj north police station.
The CCTV issue
JNUSU removes CCTV cameras/ 2017
Manash Gohain, JNU students remove CCTV cams in protest , April 1, 2017: The Times of India
`This Is Contempt Of Court’
JNUSU president Mohit Pandeyremoved the installed CCTV cameras at the Brahmaputra hostel and said the act was to “reject the move to put surveillance mechanism.“ The administration on the other hand claimed that this would be a contempt of court's order to install cameras at all important public places.
Pandey led a group of students to remove the cameras installed at the Brahmaputra hostel. “It's a privacy concern, which is why we won't allow this to happen. The cameras will increase surveillance and they are not required at places accessed by students. Cameras are already there at the administration block and the main gate. Also, the reasons given by the administration are false. In fact, the administration claims that the main gate CCTV was not working when Najeeb Ahmed disappeared.Why didn't the guards in the hostel record the assault on Ahmed in the register?“ The dean of students told TOI to contact the registrar who in turn didn't respond to the calls or the text messages. JNU sources said that the university is planning to install 45 cameras at a cost of Rs 70 lakh. These cameras are high-end equipment with facilities to zoom and of voice recording. These will be put up at the entrances and lobbies of the hostels and other public spaces on the campus.
Terming this as “bulldozing“, Pandey said the installation was undemocratic as the hostel association has not approved of the same. “The proposal has been rejected at various general body meetings and hostel meetings. If the administration wants a dialogue then why doesn't it hold a GBM to know what the students feel?“
Why JNU is so political
The Times of India, Mar 02 2016
Shreya Roychowdhury
Jawaharlal Nehru University was never going to be Delhi University. An unusual admission policy adopted soon after its establishment has ensured its very DNA is different. It also explains the diversity of its students’ union and why it makes nearly every struggle—Vemula, northeast, Kashmir, adivasis, dams and nuclear plants—its business. Students, teachers and even members of the administration agree that JNU ultimately owes much of its politics and its atmosphere, to “deprivation points” awarded to candidates from backward districts, women, transgender, Kashmiri migrants and those from defence backgrounds.
Census data is studied to draw up a list of districts according to literacy rates, percentage of non-agricultural workers, even “agricultural productivity per hectare”; these are divided into “quartiles” one and two with points assigned.
As AISA chief Sucheta De observes, in JNU, affirmative action begins even before reservation.
“There is representation of every part of India. And each group brings its own idea of the nation and nationalism,” observes V Lenin Kumar, former JNUSU president who was ousted from SFI for disagreeing with CPI(M)’s stand on Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature for presidency and Nandigram.
The 27% OBC reservation has also contributed to JNU’s uniqueness. Incidentally, the All India Backward Students’ Front, established to fight for implementation of this quota, also organised “Mahishasur Shahadat Divas”. According to the administration, women account for 57% of the student population on the campus.
There are 141 quartile-I districts—most backward—with the largest numbers in Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh; and 144 in quartile-II. Some states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Mizoram, have only Quartile II districts.
“You will find students from Kalahandi (Odisha) as well as from St Stephen’s,” says former JNUSU vice-president Anant Prakash. The present general secretary, Rama Naga, is from Kalahandi while president Kanhaiya Kumar hails from Bihar. “Over the years we’ve had supporters of Godse, Charu Majumdar, Naga separatists, Manipuri rebels and Assam’s ULFA,” says Anand Kumar who has studied and taught at JNU.
And the different groups have always found ways to settle their differences without writing, as AISF’s Aparajitha Raja puts it, “squealing letters” or ministers wading in.
