Unabated protests by the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, one of the most respected and admired institute of higher education in the country against hostel fee hike had been catching wide public attention for nearly last three weeks. There had been an exorbitant increase of fees and the students had been demanding a complete rollback - that’s the issue and the movement all throughout had maintained a peaceful character. But that what happened on Monday defies all logic, giving room to raise question as to was it at all necessary. Method of using of force to curb any democratic movement, anywhere in the world, has always been viewed as the most ugly illustration of totalitarianism and has unfailing drawn people’s reprimand. In JNU’s case, sadly, the same has happened, compelling anyone to ponder why should there be brutal application of force on students who are demanding nothing illogical and why should state wash away its hands from a responsibility that is perhaps one of its most fundamental task, which is to make higher education ‘reachable’.
A look at the revised fee structure will perhaps explain the cause of protests. A single seater hostel room rent which used to be Rs 20 per month will now be Rs 600 and for a double seater from the current Rs 10 per month to Rs 300, a 300 times increase in both cases! A new service charge of Rs 1,700 per month will also be added  and if the proposed  hike is imposed, the annual fee for JNU students living in hostels will almost double from the current Rs 27,600-32,000 to Rs 55,000-61,000, making it the most expensive central university in the country. Now, if the episode is inferred exclusively as a political movement, with such attempts also currently on, since the inclination of the students of this varsity is by and large towards the Left, it will be utterly ridiculous. This is because, the very arithmetic of revised fee chart, to any common person, will seem rather incomprehensible as well as disturbing. With this argument based entirely on an apolitical and objective viewpoint, it will not be wrong to say that there is nothing illegitimate on the part of the protesting students.
JNU imbroglio, which can only be termed as ‘gross unfairness’, nevertheless, will reignite the debate whether quality higher education is eventually heading towards becoming out of reach for the economically-disadvantaged yet meritorious sections. This should not be inferred as anything against privatisation as it’s also necessary for overall furtherance of education, particularly higher education. But at the same time, institutions which run on tax-payers’ money should also be nurtured for the sake of maximising socio-economic equality, which lamentably, is still a far cry. 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List