New Delhi: Both faculty members and students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday boycotted classes after the varsity administration issued an advisory to resume classes following two office-bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association declaring their "non-cooperation" to do so.
As a result of two JNUTA members declaring their "non-cooperation" to start classes, tensions between the administration of V-C M Jagadesh Kumar and the Teachers' Association have flared up, with the Vice-Chancellor saying on Monday that JNUTA was stopping normalcy from returning to the campus by boycotting classes.
However, when a delegation of five teachers from JNUTA met with officials of the HRD Ministry in the afternoon, they said there was no way they could resume classes as their students were not returning to the campus. "Our students are afraid of coming back to the university so how can we resume classes," The JNUTA said, adding that they themselves "do not feel secure" in the campus and that the environment in the varsity is not one conducive for academic pursuits.
The teachers' association also reiterated their demand for V-C Jagadesh Kumar's removal as varsity chief with another meeting with ministry officials scheduled for Tuesday (today).
According to a statement issued by JNUTA, the association told the MHRD on Monday that the targetting of teachers, their families, residences and vehicles pointed towards the role of the V-C in the January 5 violence and that in such circumstances teachers will not feel safe on campus until Kumar is removed from his position, adding that the faculty had lost faith in the administration under him.
"While teachers are committed to completing both pending activities of the previous semester and as well as those of the current, and willing to go the extra mile in effort to that end, restoration of normalcy is an essential precondition and after January 5 this has to include the removal of the V-C," the statement read.
The JNUTA added that the MHRD had promised to consider their views and continue discussions on the matter. However, in the meantime, the teachers' association has said that they "totally reject" the V-C advisory to resume classes and the warning issued to JNUTA about organising assemblies around the academic complex.
Meanwhile, the Union HR Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Monday said that the student agitation in JNU is no longer justified as the issue of hostel fee hike had been "sorted". He said that as per consultations with students, the utility and service charge will be borne by the University Grants Commission and a 50 per cent roll back has been agreed to for students from Below Poverty Line category.
He added that universities should not be converted into political arenas and appealed the students to call off their agitation.
However, the JNUSU has categorically maintained that their stir would continue until a complete roll-back of the increased hostel fee structure is announced.