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Academic atmosphere in JNU normal: Irani

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said most classes in the Jawaharlal Nehru Univerity (JNU), which has witnessed protests over the arrest of students in connection with a controversial event, are being held regularly and the academic atmosphere of the university is normal.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Irani said JNU has reported that students have held meetings and undertaken marches on campus over police action since the incident that took place at the university on February 9.

“The University administration is in constant touch with faculty, students and staff and several appeals have been issued and circulated among the JNU community for restoring normalcy. Presently, most of the classes are being held regularly and the academic atmosphere of the University is normal,” Irani said.

In a written reply to another question in Rajya Sabha, Irani said that “no student has been suspended and expelled from the hostel and barred entry to various buildings of University of Hyderabad in January 2016”.

Irani said there was no proposal before the government to provide central grants to state governments for installing CCTV cameras in schools.

“The matter relating to the installation of CCTV cameras in schools is within the purview of state governments,” she said, adding that at present, there was no proposal with her ministry to provide central grants for this purpose.

Asked whether the government proposed to install CCTVs in all schools to ensure safety of children, Irani said that education being on the concurrent list, majority of the schools were under the jurisdiction of state governments.

Meanwhile, in a reply to yet another question, the minister informed the Upper House  that four proposals for grant of deemed university status were received by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the last two years and are currently under examination.

Irani also said while no institution has been declared as Deemed to be University in 2014 and 2015, the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Leh has been accorded the status this year. She said proposals for deemed university status to three institutions – Vignana Jyothi, Hyderabad, Northern India Engineering College, New Delhi, and College of Engineering, Pune, were received in 2014.
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