A blame game has started between the JNU administration and JNU teachers’ association over compensation for the disrupted classes due to the on-going row on the campus.
The parents of the JNU students may be worried over the on-going fiasco in JNU campus which has led to the disruption of classes for the past one month but it is neither a concern for the teachers nor the administration as JNU does not follow minimum attendance criterion set by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for higher education across the country. When asked on the issue of less number of the classes due to which only 35 per cent courses have been covered, the JNU registrar, Bupinder Zutshi said: “The University has adopted a concept called “right to choose class” therefore not attending class is not indiscipline on the university campus.
“The minimum per cent attendance required to appear in examination in all other universities and institutes in India is not applicable in JNU. There are no provisions to press for completion of syllabus on neither teachers nor pressure on the students those not attending the classes,” Zutsi added. “We don’t have any provision of extra classes. We believe in the principle that ‘role call system’ should not be enforced in higher education,” he conveyed. On the other hand, the JNU teachers’ association members alleged on the administration and the Centre for disrupted classes.
Meanwhile, members of the JNUTA staged a protest on Wednesday in front of the Administration block on the campus and demanded immediate removal of registrar Bhupinder Zutshi. Vikramaditya Chaudhary, the JNUTA secretary, said: “The JNU registrar should be removed immediately and all the eight students barred from taking classes should be allowed to attend classes.” Prabhat Patnaik and Abhijit Sandhu, grand nephews of Bhagat Singh joined the “teach in” a series of lecture programme on the JNU campus where professor Patnaik spoke on development and nationalism.