Compulsory attendance: JNU students continue to protest, demand removal of V-C

Holding torches and shouting slogans, thousands of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, cutting across ideologies, gathered at the varsity's administrative block on Sunday night demanding the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor over the recently introduced mandatory attendance rule. Terming it as "JNU spring", they continued to assemble at the site popularly known as freedom square on Monday as well to celebrate the "cultural resistance programme".

The students have been protesting for the last four days following a notice by the administration threatening withdrawal of hostel services and cancellation of fellowships/scholarships in case of non-compliance with the minimum attendance criterion. However, the university on Sunday issued a notice urging all the stakeholders to cooperate.

University Registrar, Pramod Kumar alleged that the protesters destroyed property and suggested their action amounted to contempt of the August 2017 court order that prohibited protests within 100 metres of administrative block. However, the students refused to back down. "Freedom square has been reclaimed by thousands of who assembled there to say it loudly that Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar should go. We are here to save our campus from him," said JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) president, Geeta Kumari.

Meanwhile, amid students' protest, the JNU administration postponed the Academic Council meeting scheduled for February 23. Following which, the JNUSU appealed the student community to observe a strike on Tuesday. "The V-C till date has not shown any signs of dialogue and is only threatening students with more circulars. And now the V-C has postponed the February 23 Academic Council meeting indefinitely. He cannot run away from institutional accountability," the students' body said in a statement.

"We appeal the students to join a march to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) on Thursday demanding the removal of the V-C," it added.

The university has made a minimum of 75 per cent attendance compulsory for students of BA, MA, MSc, MTech, PG diploma, MPhil, Ph.D. and all part-time programmes. The move has become a bone of contention between the administration and students. While the university claimed that the decision was unanimously passed during the Academic Council meeting held on December 1, the JNUSU, along with a section of teachers, said the issue was not even raised during the meeting.