New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) on Thursday alleged that the administration has increased the medical fee from Rs 9 per year to Rs 1000 per year, even as the administration has denied the
claims.
"The university would like to clarify that there is no such hike in the fee including the one-time medical fee," said a statement from JNU's Director of Admissions.
Meanwhile, as students claimed that the new prospectus released for admissions for the academic year, 2020-21 shows an increase of 164 percent (Ph.D., MTech, MPhil) and 171 percent (MA, MSc, MCA, BA) in pre-enrolment fees along with an increase of Rs 991 in annual medical fees, the corrigendum shared by the university shows no increase in the pre- enrolment fee.
The pre-enrolment fees have to be paid by an applicant to secure his or her seat after the admission is confirmed and this includes the basic tuition fees — the mess charges and additional fees are paid in installment later.
Meanwhile, the JNUSU will protest in front of the Dean of Students' office on March 6 to raise this issue. Issuing a statement, meanwhile, JNUSU said, "The JNU community has fought a brave battle against the very principle of hiking fee and destroying public education. The students of JNU had to undergo a terrible spate of violence to defend it. But the JNU administration is adamant in its desire to privatize the university."
Meanwhile, the union has also raised their concerns on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) that have been added in pre-enrolment fee.
"The concept of charging GST from students shows the anti-student nature of the JNU administration. The JNU Administration has, on the other hand, canceled the university's subscription to many journals from academic publishers like Sage, to which it had previously subscribed. These are clear symptoms of a fund cut in Higher education by the MHRD and the UGC," said JNUSU Vice-President Saket Moon.