JNU students issue statement against new draft hostel manual

Several student groups of the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday issued a statement criticising the new draft hostel manual approved by the varsity administration.

JNU Students' Union has been on strike against the new hostel manual approved by the Inter Hostel Management (IHA) committee, alleging it has provisions for curfew timings, dress code and hostel fee hike.

The university had on Friday said that the hostel fee has been hiked to create better facilities for students. They also dismissed the fact that the hostel manual imposes any curfew timings or dress code on students.

Student bodies like the Left-backed All India Students' Association, Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India demanded the roll back of fee hike.

"The draft hostel manual contains multiple draconian provisions like hostel curfew timings, dress code and massive fines and punishments for expressing dissent and that seek to convert the JNU campus into a prison," according to a statement issued by the students.

"It also seeks to arbitrarily hike the mess bill to the tune of twice or even thrice the amount currently charged by an average hostel mess," it said.

Furthermore, the draft hostel manual is marked by a complete disappearance of procedures for the application of reservation policies in hostel allotment, the group claimed.

"Thus the hostel manual seeks to exclude students from socially and economically marginalised backgrounds from the university," it said.

The students said the move is condemnable and goes against the very idea of institution of higher education.

The statement released by the students' union along with other student groups like Chhatra RJD, BAPSA also condemned the exclusion of the students' union from the meeting to decide on the hostel manual.

"We categorically denounce, repudiate, and condemn the draft hostel manual 2019," the students said.