As fee hike issue escalates, students in JNU await final result
New Delhi: At Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) administration block, students collect every evening to discuss, debate, sing and talk about the next course of action against the fee hike issue that has gripped not only the campus, but the entire country. Sitting at the steps outside the administration's office, a few students discuss the incidents from the past four weeks.
"I feel as if it is going to be a long fight," said a master's student. The students have doubts over the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) report, which is due Monday. "As of now, we can only wait," she said.
Even after 'partial' rollback was announced by the administration, students say many from marganalised community has its back against the wall.
"Last year, the students were made to sign a bond that said that no student from masters or higher level can apply for work while studying," JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh told Millennium Post.
On asking, what will be an average cost for a student, if the proposed hostel manual is implemented. A PhD student, Kirti said, "We roughly pay Rs 1800 to Rs 2000 each month, which will increase to roughly Rs 6,500 to Rs 7,000."
According to the new manual, the rent for double room hiked from Rs 10 to Rs 300, while rent for single room hiked from Rs 20 to Rs 600. However, the one-time refundable mess security deposit was rolled back to Rs 5,500 instead of Rs 12,000. Utility charges like water and electricity bill will be charged "as per actual", while service charges have been added to Rs 1,700 per month.
On the other hand, JNU admin has said it has a deficit of more than Rs. 45 crore, which is largely because of the huge electricity and water charges and the salary of contractual staff.
The UGC no longer allows payment of salaries of contractual employees of hostels from the salary head of the budget. The number of such employees is over 450.
"The salary of contractual workers on students is not justified," said Kirti. The students who are still protesting have picked up support from universities all over the country.
