JNU terms continuation of students' protests 'unwarranted'

A senior Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) official on Sunday termed the students' decision to continue their protest as "unwarranted", saying that the university administration was doing everything to "ensure social justice".

"Hunger-strike by few JNU students is unwarranted when JNU administration is doing everything possible to ensure social justice," university Registrar Pramod Kumar said in a tweet.

He urged the students to consider the "silent majority" of the non-protesting students and to not "spoil" their future and also accused the students of "constantly changing their stand".

Members of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) decided to continue with their indefinite hunger strike on Saturday, a day after the university decided to go back to its old admission policy for M.Phil and Ph.D programmes, which gives a weightage of 80 per cent for entrance exam and 20 per cent for viva voce.

The students claimed that the change in admission rules was notified without proper deliberation and approval by members, as per protocol.

The students are protesting the changes in admission criteria, approved by the Academic Council (AC) on December 26, giving 100 per cent weightage to viva voce and reducing entrance examination to a qualifying criteria.

However, the university, in a meeting of the Steering Committee of admissions on February 1, discussed the issues raised by the students and subsequently promised to take the matter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for approval.

The university in its February 3 communique proposed a three-tier entrance test consisting of a qualifying test (OMR type) where all students need to get 50 per cent for moving on to the next stage of descriptive type written test and viva voce.

It also said the ratio of weightage for descriptive type written test and viva voce should be 80:20, and recommended that legal opinion be sought on applying reservation system at the first qualifying test where the qualifying marks is 50 per cent.

--IANS

vn/lok/vt