NEW DELHI: The committee appointed by the Union Human Resources Development Ministry to suggest ways of restoring normalcy in the Jawaharlal Nehru University has recommended against introducing any fee hike without following due procedure and taking students into confidence.
In its report submitted to the government on Tuesday, the panel under former UGC chairman V S Chauhan said that while immediate fund gap be fulfilled by the higher education regulator, any increase in fee structure in future should not happen without proper consultation with students’ representatives, this newspaper has learnt.
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“In our detailed discussions with students and teachers, it has emerged that there is a huge communication gap between the administration and the students,” said a panel member. “Unless a permanent mechanism to constantly engage with students is developed, crises like the present one will keep recurring.”Higher education secretary R Subrahmanyam said that the Ministry will “examine the report before taking action on it.”
JNU Vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, despite a letter by the panel, whose other members include AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe and UGC chairman Rajneesh Jain, had not attended the meeting called by the committee.
An internal committee set by the JNU two days back to find a resolution to the issue had suggested 50 per cent roll back to the revised charges with 25 per cent extra concession to the students.
Meanwhile, the UGC had already released around Rs 6 crore to meet the fund gap at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday at the behest of the Ministry.