Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) announced the schedule for its entrance examination for the 2018-19 academic year on Thursday with an increase of 526 seats for M.Phil/PhD courses from 194 seats being offered in the entrace conducted earlier this year.
The University is offering 720 seats for M.Phil/PhD courses, 459 for BA programmes and 1,118 seats for MA, M.Sc, M.Tech and MPH courses for which the entrance exams will be conducted on four days from December 27 to December 30. The administration had announced in May that the entrance exams for all courses would be shifted from the usual period between May and June to December.
The JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA), however, raised objections about the short notice in announcing the decision and demanded more time to discuss the central university's move to shift its entrance examination.
Row over GSCASH
JNU has decided to replace the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), a 18 year old body, with an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), citing UGC regulations, following which it has put a stay on elections of the body.
The GSCASH includes four elected faculty members of whom at least two are women, four elected student representatives of whom at least two are women, and one elected woman officer as well as one elected woman staff members, among others. However, the ICC will have only three student representatives, three faculty members and two non-teaching.
The move has drawn criticism from both teachers and students fraternity. "We will not let the administration to attack the autonomous and democratic composition of GSCASH and replace it with the administratiion's handpicked 'nominated' members," said JNU Student Union's (JNUSU) newly elected president Geeta Kumar, who was also a member of GSCASH.
