On Friday, all eyes were on the 143rd Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Academic Council (AC) meeting which is the sole academic body in charge of determining JNU’s admission policy.

But the meeting was adjourned on May 9 without any clarification on M.phil and PhD seat cuts. Amid much hue and cry, the meeting ended with a motion to pass the minutes of the 142nd AC meeting-in which the admission policy based on the UGC Gazette Notification of May 5, 2016, were discussed.

As soon the meeting started at 2 pm, JNU teachers moved 19 motions for discussion. But not even one motion was tabled for discussion as the registrar refused to accept them alleged JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA). “When VC announced 142nd AC minutes passed, the students and AC members alleged that the minutes have been forged and demanded correction and discussion over that, which even led to teachers fighting each other. But, the VC neither listen and nor allowed the members to express their dissent,” said JNUSU President Mohit K Pandey.  

“When the JNUSU representatives and other teachers pointed out these authoritarian moves from the side of VC, some stooges of Sangh and the administration started physically chasing and heckling the students’ representatives. There was no space for deliberation and reasoned debate,” added Pandey. JNUSU released a press note contemning the undemocratic attitude of university VC and administration. “There was no kind of discussion. How can VC hold a meeting like this,” asked JNUSU General Secretary Satrupa Chakraborty.

JNUSU Joint Secretary Tabrez Hassan alleged that two AC members, Atul Johari and Ashwini Mahapatra, physically heckled him. “They pulled my collar and snatched our phones,” Hassan told Campus Politik. At the same time Mahapatra denied the allegation saying that he was trying to prevent students from recording the meeting. “Recording the meeting procedures is against laws and I was trying to stop students from doing that,” Mahapatra told Campus Politik. However, the VC had earlier promised that the recordings of May 9 AC meeting will be made public.

The university had announced that it would follow the UGC regulations and announced a seat cut of over 80 per cent from 1,408 seats for 2017-18. However, the administration was forced to hold an AC meeting in the backdrop of an order by Delhi High Court maintaining a stay on the implementation of massive seat cuts which was arbitrarily announced by JNU.