The Union HRD Ministry’s appointed high power committee to hold discussion with JNU students and administration for peaceful resolution of all issues has sought three days’ time to decide on the demands of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) after the two sides met at Shastri Bhawan on Wednesday morning.
“The committee has assured us of positive steps and has also said it can not enforce its observation on the university administration. It has asked for three days to discuss the matter with the university,” said Satish Chandra Yadav, JNUSU General Secretary.
According to Yadav the JNUSU would continue its protest for the next three days, which would be called off only when the administration announces a complete rollback of the proposed fee hike.
The next meeting between the two sides is expected on Friday on the JNU campus, and by then the JNUSU will be submitting their demands to the ministry, which will then put the demands before the JNU administration.
Meanwhile, the HRD Ministry said its appeal to the students to restore normalcy in the varsity has been received positively.
“The committee appealed to the students to restore normalcy on the campus immediately for which the students have responded positively,” the Ministry of Human Resource Development tweeted on Wednesday after the meeting.
The students of JNU have been protesting against a 300 per cent hike in hostel fee, dress code and curfew timings among other things.They have claimed that the panel, that takes a call on fee, raised the amount without any consultation with the students’ body.
The students have demanded a complete rollback of the proposed hike in hostel fees, along with reconvening of the Inter-Hall Administration meeting that had passed the proposed fee hike on October 28.
“We have demanded that the IHA meeting that passed fee hike should be reconvened and JNUSU must be made part of it so that we can present the students’ side on the fee hike,” Yadav said.
The JNUSU also demanded resignation of the Vice-Chancellor, claiming he had lost faith of students and the teachers.
“If he still has a problem in clearing our demands, then he must resign,” Yadav added.