Hostel fee hike No word from JNU VC stand off to continue in campus today

  • | Tuesday | 12th November, 2019

However, the students inside the campus walk around discussing Monday's events and how the fee hike is going to affect, especially, the marginalised communities. Blaming Vice Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar for not communicating with the students, the protest was about a "peaceful" dialogue with him. Pratik, who is the hostel president at Lonit confirmed to Millennium Post that protest will continue on Wednesday. "The 70% Fee Hike in JNU will push out more than 3,000 students from the country's poor & deprived households. Hate for JNU is hate for the poor, hate for the oppressed and deprived, hate for questioning and democracy," she tweeted with hashtag "fees must fall".

New Delhi: Day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), witnessed violent protests, with students clashing with police, Tuesday witnessed a silent university due to Guru Nanak Devs birth anniversary. With all administration offices shut, students, who have been protesting for 20 days against the new hostel manual, didnt demonstrate but are expected to resume from Wednesday. However, the students inside the campus walk around discussing Mondays events and how the fee hike is going to affect, especially, the marginalised communities. Speaking to Millennium Post, Neha a student at JNU, who was on her way to Central Library near Administration Block said, "There are many people, who cant afford such a hike. It may not seem a big deal to many, but there are people, whose parents literally earn 1 lakh or less," she said. The students had clashed with the police, after which the latter had used water cannons and lathi charge. During the protest, Chaitra, a student who belongs from Bihar stood in front of the water cannon. Her face was a mixture of anger and sadness. "I am a daughter of a poor farmer and came here on merit. Now, with this sudden hike in fees, what do they expect us to do?" she asked. Blaming Vice Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar for not communicating with the students, the protest was about a "peaceful" dialogue with him. "We just want to talk to the VC and we will silently have a communication with him," said another student, who was loitering at the silent campus on Tuesday. However, VCs silence has agitated the students even more, who plan to continue the protest on Wednesday. Pratik, who is the hostel president at Lonit confirmed to Millennium Post that protest will continue on Wednesday. He has also alleged that he was injured and beaten up by the police during the clashes. "Many students were also injured during the clashes. I was dragged and beaten up," he said. The students are demanding withdrawal of the draft hostel manual approved by the inter-hall administration (IHA), in which service charges of Rs 1,700 were introduced and the one-time mess security fee, which is refundable, has been hiked from Rs 5,500 to Rs 12,000. Meanwhile, the rent for a single-seater room has been increased from Rs 20 per month to Rs 600 per month, while rent for a double-seater room has been increased to Rs 300 per month from Rs 10 per month. The draft hostel manual also has provisions for dress code and curfew timings, the students union alleged. Many political leaders have extended support for the students saying that the hike fees is wrong. Taking to Twitter, Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) said, "This hike is to turn JNU into something else, against its current character that promotes students from diverse backgrounds to afford higher education. JNUs annual report says, around 40% of students admitted in 2017 had a parental income of less than ?12k per month." Kavita Krishnan, member of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation has also extended her support for the students. "The 70% Fee Hike in JNU will push out more than 3,000 students from the countrys poor & deprived households. Hate for JNU is hate for the poor, hate for the oppressed and deprived, hate for questioning and democracy," she tweeted with hashtag "fees must fall".

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