Students should not compromise on studies for politics, says JNU VC

NEW DELHI: JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit advised students not to compromise studies for politics amid a row over the varsity imposing a series of stringent measures against staging dharnas within its campus. Pandit said disciplinary action can adversely impact students' future prospects for securing jobs.

"Nobody's saying don't do protests but at the same time your academics should not be compromised. Many of these students who engage in politics later come to me seeking extensions which will reflect in their profile when they go for a job," she told PTI in an interview.

The vice chancellor cited the open debates and lectures on the Israel-Hamas conflict in JNU – stressing that no agitation has taken place over it – as an example of which showed the culture of critical thinking on campus. Pandit, who assumed charge as the vice chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2022, said she withdrew all proctorial inquiries against students in the 2019 fee hike protest considering its impact on their careers.

The vice chancellor said the students should express their freedoms with responsibility. The administration has officially notified the chief proctor office (CPO) manual penalising certain actions on campus such as obstructing officials from performing their duty, drinking alcohol or overspeeding on campus to deter them from violating rules, she said.

The JNU last year in November released its revised CPO manual under which a fine of up to Rs 20,000 can be imposed for protesting in prohibited areas on campus and Rs 10,000 for raising anti-national slogans. The vice chancellor said the university administration has not increased fines but it has only officially notified the Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual, making it legally sound based on the recommendations of the high court to deter any rule violation on campus.

"We have not increased the slabs for fines in the (revised) CPO manual. Most of the fines mentioned in the manual are for incidents such as obstructing varsity officials from performing their duties or manhandling them or for drinking (alcohol) or for overspeeding on the campus," she said on the criticism received against the manual.

She further claimed that unlawful activities in her tenure as the VC have reduced significantly in the last two years. Pandit also said that many proctorial inquiries cannot be taken back as the matter is sub-judice since students moved to court and FIRs were registered in several other cases for contempt of court.