JNU agrees to students' demand to hold caste census, revert to old entrance exam system: JNUSU

NEW DELHI: The ongoing stalemate between the JNU administration and its students' union, which has been staging a hunger strike for the past 15 days over various unresolved issues, may soon come to an end as the two sides have reached a consensus on several demands. The university has agreed to fulfil at least six of the 12 major demands made by the protesting students. However, the administration emphasised that the university does not have an officially recognised student body. This decision, they noted, reflects the institution's commitment to upholding democratic values. "We engaged in dialogue with the protestors as students of the university, focusing on their welfare," said a university representative later in the day.

"Despite there being no officially recognised student body at JNU, and even though the students were initially pushing for just two of their demands, we decided to address more. These include reopening the PSR gate, notifying Centres to hold SFC elections, requesting the UGC and the Ministry of Education to increase funding for student scholarships, organising caste and gender sensitisation workshops across campus, and providing data already available on our website regarding the caste categories of admitted students," they said.

"This was done solely for the welfare of the students, not to give anyone political mileage," the official added. According to the JNUSU, the varsity has agreed to some of their demands including reinstating the old in-house entrance exam system -- JNU Entrance Exam (JNUEE) -- for admissions, conducting a caste census of the campus, increasing scholarship amounts, and proposing a reduction in the weightage given to the viva for admissions. However, the union has continued its protest, with president Dhananjay and councillor Nitish Kumar remaining on hunger strike, which entered its 16th day on Monday. They are demanding written confirmation of the agreed-upon demands.

Administration promises concessions

The hunger strike started on August 11. "Dhananjay has lost more than 5 kg and has a ketone level of 4+, which indicates severe pressure on his kidneys due to the hunger strike. He has also developed jaundice and a urinary tract infection (UTI). Nitish has lost around 7 kg and has become extremely weak, suffering from severe joint and muscle pain," the students' union said in a statement. The JNUSU has called for a relay hunger strike and night vigil to press their demands.

In a negotiation meeting held on Friday last week, the day of the long march to the Ministry of Education by the JNUSU, Rector-I of the university, Brijesh Kumar Pandey, assured the students that the university would accept some of the demands raised, according to a statement by the students' body. When contacted, Pandey said, "The administration will accept all the positive demands of the students in their best interest.

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Caste census data promised

Anything beyond our authority cannot be fulfilled." He added, "The university is currently facing a funding crunch. We will write to the UGC to request an allocation, so we can increase the scholarship amount as demanded by the students. As for the caste census, the data regarding the categories in which students have been admitted is already available on our website. That won't be an issue." According to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), the university has agreed in principle to increase the merit-cum-means scholarship from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 and extend the provision to students of the School of Engineering and the School of Management.

Reinstating the JNUEE was a central agenda item in the Charter of Demands. The Rector-I has verbally assured that admissions will be conducted through JNUEE starting from the next academic session, the union said. Conducting a caste census was another prominent agenda item in the Charter of Demands. The administration has verbally assured the union that they will publish the category-wise data of JNU students, faculty, and staff within the next 15 days, it added. The university has also agreed to present the Nafey Committee report at the upcoming Academic Council (AC) meeting for approval, which recommends reducing the weightage of viva marks to 10-15 per cent in admissions.

Barak hostel remains closed

"Reducing the weightage of viva marks has been a longstanding demand of the JNUSU. Three committees have been formed over time to address this matter. The Nafey Committee, chaired by renowned scholar Professor Nafey, unequivocally recommended that the viva weightage be reduced to 10-15 per cent," the statement said. Furthermore, the administration has also agreed to drop the inquiries initiated against students who were part of a water protest outside the VC's residence and in a sexual harassment case where the survivor staged a protest at the North Gate of the campus, blocking the main entrance for several days.

However, the parties could not reach a consensus on the opening of Barak Hostel, which has remained shut since its inauguration in January. The demand to include JNUSU in Academic Council meetings, where policy-level issues such as deprivation points and viva weightage are discussed, will be addressed by Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit on August 27. Previously, the JNUSU was included in AC meetings, but this practice was discontinued during the tenure of the previous Vice-Chancellor.