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• Costly affair After hostel fee hike, JNU
will be India’s most expensive central
university

government, the academicians and the excellence, fostering learning in an at- messages were written on the Swami
students. The JNU was earlier also in mosphere of free spirit and as such due Vivekananda Statue. By far there is no
the news after alleged seditious slogans diligence and care should have been clarity on who defaced the statue, it is
were raised on the campus. taken to retain its character, eminence clear that the messages were directed
For many years, the JNU has been and world class. to send across a message to the govern-
dominated by humanities and social ment. The statue is situated on the right
sciences. However, of late but there is a Statue defaced side of the administrative block oppo-
new emphasis on natural sciences and While authorities may be at fault for site the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru.
the present Vice Chancellor Mamidala the stir at the JNU, there will always be a Under the new proposal by the JNU’s
Jagadesh Kumar is from IIT Delhi. Little question mark as to why objectionable executive committee, the rent for a
doubt that when the stir spread, pro- double-seater room, which was hiked
testing students painted messages on to 200 per month from 10 per month
walls near the vice-chancellor’s office The fee hike — set to earlier, has now been reduced to 100
saying that “You are not our VC. Bye, Bye come into effect from per month.
Mamidala Forever.” Rent for the single-seater room,
The university might have increased the next academic proposed at 600 per month
the fee to weed out ‘non-serious’ stu- from 20 per month earlier, has
dents from hostels but its intent has year — will nearly been reduced to 200 per month.
been clouded by controversies. Stu- double the annual fee The one-time refundable mess
dents have raised objections to the security fee has been hiked from 5,500
compulsory attendance for MPhil and for JNU students living to 12,000. Significantly, the main bone
PhD courses. The students have resent- in hostels from the of contention — the utility charges of
ed the sedition charge against leveled 1,700 that have been introduced for
against Kanhaiya Kumar. They have current 27,600-32,000 the first time — have not been removed
also criticised the proposal to display annually up to or reduced.
Army tanks on the campus to ‘instill na-
tionalism.’ The JNU has been a centre of 55,000-61,000 LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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