New Delhi. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit has said that JNU is facing the problems of those who enjoy the facility of free food and accommodation. This situation is arising due to students staying longer than the prescribed period and guests staying illegally. Pandit, in an interview to the editors at the headquarters of ‘PTI-Bhasha’ on Sansad Marg, said that he has issued strict instructions to the hostel administration that no student should be allowed to stay in the hostel for more than five years.
In response to a question on the allegations of freeloaders living and eating in the university campus on taxpayers’ money, Vice Chancellor Pandit said, ‘You are absolutely right, we have a problem of ‘freeloaders’ here.’ Pandit (61), who has studied from JNU, said that this problem existed even when she was a student, but now it has increased further. She said, ‘When I was there, there were many students who were staying in the university, but the number of such students was very less… Some students… want everything free and subsidized… even the Lok Sabha canteen is JNU canteen. It is expensive, but in our time teachers were very strict.
Pandit said, ‘The professor who supervised my research told me that if you do not complete it in four and a half years, you will be out. I knew he would not sign my ‘fellowship extension’… I think this has changed over the years. Some professors allowed such expansion and thus the number has increased today. He said, ‘There are guests who are living illegally on the campus, who are not even students of JNU, but come and live here. They are either preparing for UPSC or other exams… For them, JNU is the cheapest place to live… Where can you get such accommodation in South West Delhi, spread over two thousand acres of greenery, with dhabas and cheap food Is.’
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On the steps being taken by his administration to address the issue, Pandit said, ‘Now we are trying to control it to a great extent…It is very difficult for us to go into the rooms…We are still following the norms. Let’s do this. We appeal to the students to at least inform us if they are bringing any guest. He said, ‘We have also made it strict on the hostel administration that they should not allow any student to stay for more than five years. We are now making ID cards mandatory… We ask students to carry ID cards with them at all times and show them when asked. JNU had released a list of outstanding dues of over Rs 2.79 crore from students living in hostels in 2019, which had created an uproar in various quarters. There were massive protests in the university in 2019 also when it had increased the fees.
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Tags: Former JNU student, JNU, JNU Violence
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 21, 2024, 22:28 IST