NEW DELHI: Students protesting at Jawaharlal Nehru University over a hike in the room rent and addition of service charges on Monday questioned the silence of Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, who they claimed was active on Twitter.
“He has all the time to tweet, but does not want to meet the students… why? The hike in room rent and other charges is sudden, without consultation with the students. More than the hike, the students are angry about the silence of the VC,” said Preeti, a student from JNU.
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The VC had last tweeted on November 9, when he posted tweets on how Dr Vandana Mishra, the associate dean of the university, was roughed up by some students and allegedly confined to her classroom. Kumar’s last tweet was on the Third Convocation of JNU, which was held on Monday.
“He (the VC) is never available in the campus; he doesn’t want to meet the students. No interaction has been held with us… the aggression is gradually building up among students. What is wrong if we seek clarification on a sudden rise in room rent and other charges? How will the students who come from the EWS category pay,” said Aishe Ghosh, president of the JNU Students’ Union.
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According to the students, the issue regarding the hostel charges started in September, when the authorities sent a mail seeking suggestions from students by October on changes to be made in the hostel manual.
However, the students claimed that the Inter Hall Administration made the changes without waiting for recommendations from the students.
On November 1, the registrar issued a letter on the hostel manual draft stating that there was no difference between the old rules and the new ones.
“The clarification letter is a blatant lie. The money which is said to be refundable is not (refunded). We have no trust in the VC,” said Qasim, a student.