No Fine To Be Imposed On Students Who Protested Against 2019 Fee Hike: JNU VC

JNU VC Shantishree Pandit has said that the university will withdraw all notices against the students who protested against the 2019 fee hike outside the administrative block.

The Jawaharal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor, Shantishree Pandit has said that the JNU administration will impose no fines on students who protested at the administrative building of the university, against the 2019 fee hike, as per officials.  The Jawaharlal Nehru University will withdraw all the notices issued against the protesting students in the matter, vice chancellor Shantishree Pandit told PTI. "The competent authority of the university has decided not to impose a fine on students who were found to be involved in the 2019 protest," the JNU VC was reported as saying. 

Notably, protests erupted in 2019 in the JNU campus following the varsity administration's announcement of fee hike in the hostel fees. The move triggered protests by students across the JNU campus following which, several students were issued notices in this regard, based on a complaint from the Chief Security Officer. A proctoral inquiry to look into the issue was slated to be held on November 9. 

In the protests, students demanded withdrawal of the draft hostel manual which introduced a service charge of Rs 1,700, and proposed to increase the refundable one-time mess security deposit from Rs 5,500 to Rs 12,000. The hostel fee for a single-seater room was increased from Rs 20 per month to Rs 600 per month, while that for a double-seater room was increased from Rs 10 to Ra 300 per month. 

Following the announcement of fee hikes, all student organisations functioning in JNU from left to right, including the ABVP, the RSS students' wing, unequivocally demanded a complete rollback of the draft hostel manual. The students staged a demonstration against the jNU administration at the administrative block, which also houses the Vice-Chancellor’s office. Protesting within 100 metres of the block though, is prohibited by the High Court. The agitations also stretched outside the JNU campus that witnessed students gheraoing the AICTE building -- the venue for the varsity’s convocation -- during which Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal was stuck for six hours.

(With inputs from PTI)

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