Latest news with #JNUEntranceExamination
New Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
No support for reinstating JNU Entrance Examination for PhD admissions: VC
NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit responded to the ongoing student protests on Friday, stating there is no support from any academic school or centre for reinstating the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) for PhD admissions. Pandit clarified that the decision to adopt the CUET and UGC-NET as admission routes was unanimously endorsed by the university's deans and that her responsibility is to implement these academic decisions. The Vice-Chancellor's statement came as the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) entered the third week of its indefinite hunger strike, which began on June 26. The student body has been demanding the reinstatement of JNUEE, automatic hostel extensions for research scholars, an increase in the Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship, and the withdrawal of disciplinary actions against protesting students. Despite the worsening health of some protesters, the administration has remained firm. In a statement issued on the university's official social media handle, Pandit expressed concern for students' well-being but emphasised that the policy changes cannot be made unilaterally. She reiterated that 'the administration is open to dialogue and willing to engage with students through institutional and democratic channels.' The JNUSU, however, has remained resolute, accusing the administration of 'centralised and undemocratic' decision-making. Student leaders also criticised the decision to host the Vice-President during the ongoing protests, alleging that student voices are being ignored. They warned that protests would escalate if their demands are not met. As the hunger strike entered its 15th day, tensions remained high, with student organisations like NSUI, AISA, and SFI showing solidarity with the protesters.
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
JNU admin condemns protest during V-P Dhankhar's visit, seeks report; JNUSU continues hunger strike
New Delhi, The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration on Thursday condemned an attempt by a group of students to block Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's cavalcade during his visit to the campus, announcing that the security branch has been directed to submit a detailed report on the incident. JNU admin condemns protest during V-P Dhankhar's visit, seeks report; JNUSU continues hunger strike The vice president had visited the university to inaugurate the first annual conference on Indian Knowledge Systems . "It is a matter of great honour for the JNU community to host the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal. Their gracious presence and inspiring address deeply encouraged our students and academic community," the university said in an official statement. Expressing gratitude to Delhi Police and other agencies for smooth coordination and security, the JNU said the attempted disruption "violated the principles of democratic expression and tarnished the image of the university". The JNU administration called on students to uphold the values of mutual respect and peaceful dialogue. The incident occurred as the JNU Students' Union entered the 15th day of its indefinite hunger strike. The JNUSU members staged a protest outside the convention centre where the vice president was present. In a separate statement, the JNUSU said the protest was part of their ongoing demands, which include reinstating the JNU Entrance Examination , ensuring hostel accommodation for research scholars throughout the duration of their studies, withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings against students and shelving of the proposed changes to the Means-cum-Merit fellowship. The JNUSU also opposed the invitation to Vice President Dhankhar, alleging that he had made "anti-constitutional" statements in the past. "We condemn the ruthless manhandling of peacefully protesting students by JNU security and Delhi Police," the JNUSU said, reiterating its demand for dialogue with the university administration. Despite the protest, the three-day conference on Indian Knowledge Systems is proceeding as planned, with sessions focusing on indigenous knowledge in philosophy, science and arts. The vice president in his speech emphasized that India's emergence as a global power must be grounded in its intellectual and cultural traditions. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Wire
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Scrapping JNU's Own Entrance Exam is Part of Larger Project of Dismantling Public Education
Education Nitish Kumar 3 minutes ago As an ongoing hunger strike at JNU enters its 12th day, the protest has emerged as a broader resistance against the systematic dismantling of public education under the current political dispensation. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) is leading a movement for the last 12 days for restoration of JNU Entrance Exam (JNUEE), scrapping of proctorial enquiries against students for peacefully demanding their rights, increasing the merit-cum-means scholarship for students from deprived backgrounds and revocation of hostel eviction order for students in their final year of PhD. Our sustained struggle is aimed towards preserving the institution's historic legacy, which has long been anchored in its commitment to democratising higher education for marginalised and underprivileged communities. For decades, JNU's autonomous entrance examination system designed with principles of social justice and inclusivity ensured that students from disadvantaged caste, gender and regional backgrounds could compete on a more equitable footing for admission to one of India's most intellectually vibrant universities. The JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) was not merely an evaluative mechanism but an instrument of affirmative action, incorporating deprivation points to offset structural disadvantages, maintaining nominal application fees to ensure accessibility, and permitting responses in multiple Indian languages to accommodate linguistic diversity. Beyond its formal structure, the examination was embedded within a broader ecosystem of solidarity, where alumni and senior students provided free mentorship and study materials, fostering an informal yet vital support network that leveled the playing field for aspirants from marginalised backgrounds. As the ongoing hunger strike at JNU enters its 12th day, the protest has transcended the immediate demand for reverting to the university's previous admission system and has instead emerged as a broader resistance against the systematic dismantling of public education under the current political dispensation. The imposition of the CUET and NET/JRF for PhD, with its rigid MCQ format and centralised administration, epitomises the neoliberal homogenisation of higher education, eroding institutional autonomy and disregarding the socioeconomic realities of marginalised students. The BJP-RSS regime's aggressive push for standardisation aligns with a larger project of depoliticising campuses, undermining affirmative action, and privileging technocratic efficiency over pedagogical depth. Their vision for higher education prioritises the production of a compliant workforce over critical knowledge creation, reflecting a neoliberal agenda that aligns education with market driven cheap labour demands rather than intellectual empowerment. This ideological framework systematically undermines universities as sites of critical and deep learning, reducing higher education to an instrument for supplying cheap labour while eroding the conditions necessary for scholarly innovation and social critique. The protest, therefore, is not merely about preserving JNU's unique admission model but about defending the very idea of a university as a space for critical inquiry, social justice and democratic access – a vision now under siege by the forces of market driven educational reforms and majoritarian exclusion. Why JNUEE? The centralisation of admissions through common entrance exams, particularly one based on the MCQ format, poses significant pedagogical and institutional challenges for a university like JNU. A standardised, one-size-fits-all examination fails to account for the nuanced academic requirements of disciplines within the humanities, social sciences and liberal arts, where critical thinking, interpretative skills and analytical depth are paramount. The MCQ format, by design, prioritises rote memorisation of discrete facts over the ability to engage with complex ideas, construct coherent arguments, or appreciate multiple interpretations of texts and theories. This mechanised approach to evaluation undermines the very essence of higher education, which thrives on intellectual curiosity, reflexivity and the capacity to question dominant paradigms. Moreover, centralisation strips universities of their autonomy to design admission processes tailored to their unique academic ethos, reducing the diversity of institutional approaches to a homogenised, bureaucratic exercise that privileges efficiency over intellectual rigour. The erosion of qualitative evaluation methods risks producing a generation of students ill-equipped for the demands of higher education, where independent thought, creativity and hermeneutic engagement are indispensable. By surrendering to the technocratic logic of standardisation, universities risk diluting their critical function and becoming mere degree awarding factories rather than spaces of transformative learning. Furthermore, the imposition of a centralised MCQ-based exam exacerbates existing inequities in the education system by disproportionately favoring students from coaching centers that train candidates to "crack" tests rather than engage deeply with subject matter. This not only devalues classroom learning but also alienates students from marginalised backgrounds who may lack access to such commercialised test preparation. The consequences are particularly stark in professional courses like medicine, where Tamil Nadu's opposition to NEET highlights the systemic exclusion of rural, Tamil medium, and socioeconomically marginalised students. Empirical evidence from Justice A.K. Rajan Committee (2021) reveals how NEET's centralised structure has decimated representation from government schools (from 14% to 0.5%) and Tamil medium learners, privileging urban, English medium students with access to coaching. The Tamil Nadu Assembly's unanimous passage of the NEET Exemption Bill represents a direct challenge to this homogenisation. Deprivation points and inclusive education The JNUEE represents more than just an assessment mechanism, it embodies a radical commitment to inclusive education through its deprivation points system, which operationalises social justice by addressing structural inequalities in access to higher education. The deprivation points system is essential for advancing social justice in higher education as it actively counters structural inequities by providing compensatory support to students from historically marginalised backgrounds. By quantifying disadvantage through empirical indicators such as rurality, female illiteracy rates and lack of basic infrastructure in home districts, JNU's model addresses intersecting barriers of region, gender, and class that conventional reservation policies alone cannot mitigate. This mechanism upholds the constitutional principle of substantive equality by recognising that equal treatment of unequal conditions perpetuates disadvantage, particularly in an institution like JNU whose founding mandate under the 1966 Act explicitly links national character with representation from backward regions. The restoration of deprivation points for research programs would not merely correct an administrative anomaly but reaffirm the university's democratic commitment to transforming higher education into a vehicle for social mobility rather than a reproducer of privilege. The (il)logic of fund cuts The justification for fund cuts is further undermined by its inherent contradictions. While governments demand "world class" standards from public universities, they simultaneously deprive them of the resources needed to achieve such excellence, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of decline that is then used to justify privatisation. The neoliberal rationale behind fund cuts to institutions like JNU is fundamentally flawed, as it ignores the indispensable role of public investment in sustaining equitable and quality higher education. Between 2014-15 and 2023-24, JNU's per student expenditure plummeted by 63%, from Rs 37,807 to a meager Rs 13,921 – a decline that starkly contrasts with inflationary pressures and the growing needs of a diverse student body. This drastic reduction reflects not fiscal prudence but a deliberate policy of financial starvation, which forces public universities to operate under artificial scarcity while being held to unrealistic expectations of "excellence." Such austerity measures are rationalised through market centric dogma, which wrongly presumes that universities must become self-sustaining enterprises. However, this logic disregards the fact that education is a public good – not a commodity – and that underfunding systematically erodes institutional capacity. The consequences are evident: deteriorating infrastructure, shrinking scholarships and diminished academic resources, all of which ultimately disproportionately affect marginalised students who rely on public education as a pathway to social mobility. In JNU's case, the discarding of deprivation points and the push for centralised exams like CUET align with this financial strangulation, as both moves dilute the university's egalitarian character and make it increasingly inaccessible to disadvantaged students. Data reveals the direct correlation between austerity policies and exclusion: after the 2017 withdrawal of deprivation points for research programs, enrolment from low income families and rural backgrounds plummeted by over 50%. Such outcomes expose the hypocrisy of claims about "merit" and "quality", revealing how fund cuts are less about fiscal responsibility and more about ideological control, silencing dissent by transforming universities into institutional agents to profit seeking corporates for producing obedient cheap labour. Ultimately, this logic replicates global patterns of neoliberal governance, where the state abdicates its welfare role while retaining authoritarian control over educational content and access, thereby reinforcing existing hierarchies rather than challenging them. These developments reflect a systemic transformation of India's higher education landscape under the New Education Policy (NEP), 2020, wherein the rhetoric of "autonomy" functions as a neoliberal trope to justify state withdrawal from financial responsibility, compelling public universities to increasingly rely on private capital and corporate partnerships. This strategic defunding represents not mere fiscal austerity but an ideological project to reconfigure higher education as a market driven commodity, precipitating the gradual privatisation of institutions and the exclusion of economically disadvantaged students through rising fees and living costs. Consequently, students from working class and rural backgrounds bear the brunt of this restructuring. In defiance of the JNU administration's persistent negligence and outright dismissal of constitutionally valid demands for equitable admissions, the JNUSU has demonstrated unwavering resolve to compel institutional accountability through its ongoing hunger strike. Despite enduring Delhi's oppressive heat and humidity for twelve consecutive days, being deprived of adequate medical care, mobility assistance and even the dignity of being treated as legitimate stakeholders, the protesters' commitment remains unbroken. The administration's reprehensible tactics of delegitimisation – including parental intimidation and the withholding of essential healthcare – only brings to the fore its authoritarian disregard for democratic dissent and its infantilisation of conscientised student activists. Far from deterring the movement, these oppressive measures have further galvanised the collective determination to reinstate JNUEE, not merely as an examination mechanism but as a non-negotiable pillar of social justice in higher education. The struggle, thus, transcends institutional negotiations; it is a battle for the soul of public education itself and one that the JNUSU refuses to concede. Nitish Kumar is the JNUSU president, who along with three other students, are on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 12 days. Several other students have since joined the indefinite hunger strike. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
India Gazette
30-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
JNU admin, students spar over meeting invites as hunger strike completes day 4
By Vishu Adhana New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): The JNU administration and Students' Union (JNUSU) are at loggerheads over the stakeholders' meeting invite list, even as the students' indefinite hunger strike completes its fourth day on Monday. The protest is set to enter its fifth day on Tuesday. The student body has requested that all stakeholders meet over the demand to reinstate the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) for PhD admissions, as well as a rollback of the university's decision to bar June 2025 UGC-NET aspirants. Vice Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit, in a letter to the students, said the meeting-- originally scheduled for July 1-- stands postponed as several stakeholders would only be available after July 2. While agreeing to an all-stakeholders meeting, she insisted that if JNUTA (JNU Teachers' Association) is invited, then equal representation must be given to JNUTF (JNU Teachers' Federation) as well, since there are 'two teachers' bodies.' 'It is your organisation, JNUSU, and your responsibility to be inclusive. If you want JNUTA, then I will have to invite JNUTF too,' she wrote. This triggered sharp opposition from JNUSU, which accused the administration of selectively legitimising JNUTF--a teachers' group the union describes as aligned with the RSS--while sidelining recognised academic bodies. 'JNUTA is the recognised teachers' union and a permanent invitee to the Academic Council. JNUTF is just an organisation,' the union said in a letter sent Monday evening. Reacting to the development, JNUSU President Nitish Kumar told ANI, 'The administration wants to involve JNUTF, which is an RSS-linked teachers' body. We have asked for an all-stakeholders meeting, and from the teachers' end, JNUTA already represents them. Why especially include JNUTF?' He added that the strike will continue until all demands are met. The union further claimed that the administration's insistence on inviting the Joint Secretary of JNUSU, who has not participated in the JNUEE movement, appears to be an attempt to delay dialogue and cater to 'certain political interests.' 'This deadlock is being deliberately prolonged to avoid addressing the legitimate concerns of the students,' the JNUSU office bearers--Nitish Kumar (President), Manisha (Vice-President), and Munteha Fatima (General Secretary)--wrote. They reiterated their four key demands: reinstatement of the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE), rollback of CUET/NET-based admissions, university-led conduct of JNUEE with logistical and financial support, and filling of vacant seats along with resolution of academic delays. The union also reminded the administration that three weeks ago, it had shared the results of a student referendum that overwhelmingly supported the return of JNUEE, but received no response. 'The student community is deeply concerned that these tactics are part of a larger effort to delegitimise JNUSU and weaken the students' movement. However, students remain resolute in their demand for justice and transparency,' the union said. (ANI)
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
JNU students' union launches hunger strike over PhD admission norms, demands bringing back in-house test
Written by Sharmistha Shivhare The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) and the administration are locked in a tussle over PhD admissions. On June 26, the union launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding the reinstatement of the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) for PhD admissions. It has also called for a rollback of the decision to bar those who took the UGC-NET (University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test) in June from applying. According to the PhD prospectus for the 2025–26 academic session, released earlier this month, only candidates who qualified for the UGC-NET in June 2024 or December 2024 will be considered for admission — effectively excluding those who appeared for the June 2025 exam. The JNUSU claimed the move unfairly disqualifies a large section of prospective applicants, particularly those from the 2023 MA batch. 'Many students had been preparing with the assumption that the June 2025 NET would be valid. The administration made this decision without informing anyone in advance,' said JNUSU Vice-President Manisha. 'Those part of the hunger strike have experienced a drop in blood sugar levels. I've lost 2.5 kg myself. But we won't budge until our demands are heard,' she added. The administration, as per the students, has justified the PhD admission norms by citing a delay in the academic calendar. In 2024, PhD classes began in January instead of July, and the new prospectus notes that the timeline for this year's admissions has been adjusted to bring the calendar back on track. However, students argued that this explanation fails to justify the lack of prior communication. In a written response to the JNUSU, Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit has stated that the administration last year had asked all deans and chairpersons to consider conducting the JNUEE, but none agreed to take responsibility for organising it. She added that many academic units instead preferred using the NET or CUET (Common University Entrance Test). The V-C further said that data presented by the Director of Admissions showed CUET to be more inclusive and accessible, particularly for students from reserved categories. The JNUSU, however, contended that this undermines democratic access to education, especially for students from marginalised backgrounds. On May 24, the union held a campus-wide referendum on reinstating JNUEE, in which 93% of those who voted supported its return, it said. Despite repeated requests, the union claimed the V-C has refused to meet elected representatives unless all central panel office bearers — along with the Joint Secretary from the ABVP — are present. Students have also raised three other demands: -Stop the eviction of PhD scholars from hostels before their thesis submission. -Revoke all ongoing proctorial inquiries against students. -Increase the MCM (Merit-cum-Means) scholarship to Rs 5,000 and abolish the 'Rationalising Committee' reportedly reviewing scholarship norms. So far, a total of eight students have joined the hunger strike near the Administrative Block, including Manish, Nitish Kumar (JNUSU President), and student councillors Antariksha and Krishnapriya. (Sharmistha Shivhare is an intern with The Indian Express)
