Days after India’s premier university in the national capital witnessed a protest against the university administration’s decision to hike dormitory fees and enforce a curfew on students, a fresh round of student protests began on Monday.
The protest was staged when India’s Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Education Minister Prakash Javadekar arrived at the university to participate in the 3rd Convocation of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Agitated students were shouting in protest of the college panel's decision to increase the fees (400 per cent hike) without consulting them. They contend that the fee hike is against the idea of the institution.
Police have been deployed in large numbers and used water cannons on Monday to disperse the protesting crowd.
In the video, students can be seen climbing on the police van, shouting slogans while female personnel tried to disperse the female protestors.
Putting forward the student demands, Sambid Verma, an M. Phil student, who was injured as a result of the water cannons used by police, said: “There has recently been a very massive hike in dormitory fees. We want a notice signed by the Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar rejecting the new hostel draft manual (that provisions the fee hike). The administration should come up with a new manual through democratic procedures, and it should be approved by the student bodies participating in the meeting.”
Meanwhile, speaking at the 3rd Convocation of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Indian Vice-President Naidu today said: “It is a matter of pride that JNU has become synonymous with academic excellence in the country and that he is to note that the University has recently received the highest ranking, Grade A from India’s education watchdog National Assessment and Accreditation Council.”
