JNU student body protests for better campus facilities

The Jawahar Lal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Tuesday observed a total strike, which was followed by a demonstration at the UGC office. Students demand funds for merit-cum-means scholarship, more financial assistance, hostels and better infrastructure. Shakeel Anjum, general secretary JNUSU said, ‘The merit-cum-means scholarships in JNU are meant for the neediest students whose annual family income is less than Rs 1 lakh per annum. This MCM for BA/MA students was last increased in 2006 to Rs 1,500 per month. Since then the country has seen massive inflation. And for many years now, JNU has been facing a very severe accommodation crisis. Year after year, we witness the slow and painful process of hostel allotment where new students have to wait as long as two semesters to get their hostels. Such prolonged delay causes incalculable hardships for the new students who have come from far-off parts of the country. It is now almost two years since the last new hostel in JNU was constructed, and yet JNU has no concrete plans to build more hostels immediately, even as hundreds of students continue to suffer with no accommodation.’

According to Ved Prakash, chairman of University Grant Commission, ‘The merit-cum-means scholarship is not our scheme. University designed this scheme at it’s own and pays through their resources.’