It’s not that JNU students are unreasonable, it’s just that due process must be followed

One wonders whether certain moves are made to malign the image of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as the premier institute of the country, knowing full well that its students won’t stop questioning or give up without a fight. This time the students, led by their unions, are protesting against a slew of decisions taken by its administration, which includes a steep hike in tuition fees, enforcement of a dress code and curfew timings for hostellers. So much so that water cannons had to be used to disperse agitating protesters, some of whom were detained. The students’ angst over the almost 300 per cent hike in fees is understandable as it’s astronomical and insensitive, instead of being graded and phased out as all transitions to a new protocol should be. For long, JNU has come to be recognised as one of the most liberal institutions, which provides quality education at affordable rates. It has provided succour to the poorest of families, who could not afford a respectable education for their children due to the hefty fees charged by other eminent institutions, which are only getting more expensive by the day.

On the other hand, it is also a fact that JNU’s fee policy had been operating under a differential regime — its fee structure was nothing when compared to its counterparts. Could one imagine staying in one of the prime locations of Delhi, paying a room rent of just Rs 20 per month for a single-seater or Rs 10 per month for a double seater, that, too without any utility or service charge? That’s something that was unimaginable back in the decade and even now. Perhaps, this is the reason why students here over-extended their duration of degrees so that they could prolong their stay at the hostels, which is comfortable and cheap, the inexpensive food coming as an additional benefit. Some even take short-term courses while working part-time. Then there are also others, who stay on campus without permission. The accumulation of old students led to a chronic hostel shortage for newcomers. The university, too, was at ease for a lot of its budget came either from the taxpayers’ money or from international donations. In this sense, it is welcome that the varsity finally woke up to the dangers of big subsidies. Yet it must be accepted that a steep hike, coming after a span of 19 years, is an injustice when not reasonably executed. No consultations were made with the stakeholders or the management council to arrive at a common ground. Dress codes or hostel timing rules for students, too, are downright silly. The students admitted to this varsity are adults and must be treated as such.