NEW DELHI: Following objections over the new’ discipline’ manual issued by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Vice Chancellor (V-C) Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit on Wednesday said there is no ban on protests. The manual is nothing new as same fines were being paid two years ago as well, the V-C said.
“There is a chief proctor’s office in every university as per statutes and ordinances. Like all universities, central universities; JNU has had a chief proctor’s office since 1969. And there have been rules. Students have been fined for any type of misbehaviour or indiscipline, whatever the rules define as per ordinances and statutes of the university. There are no new rules that we have brought. It is the same rules that were there two years back, and the same fine was being paid,” said V-C Dhulipudi, adding, “I don’t understand why suddenly this has come up.”
The V-C said, “This was passed in the executive council on November 24, and the same document was circulated to all members three weeks before. It’s been more than one and a half months since. This is a public document. The only thing is, it has been legal.” She said that after joining the university, there have been no fines on any student who has protested, and instead, she had withdrawn all the proctorial inquiries against all students.
“You cannot drink on campus, you cannot take drugs, and you cannot misbehave with female students. There have been incidents where some students get drunk and misbehave. And once that misbehaviour takes place, and then the whole issue comes on the administration ,” Dhulipudi said.
Executive Council gives go ahead to new manual
On Monday, a 15-page proctor manual on “rules of discipline and proper conduct” was approved by the JNU Executive Council (EC), stipulating students could face penalties upto Rs 20,000 for any form of protest within 100-meter radius of the academic and administrative complex.