The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Executive Council has approved the recommendations of a High-Level Committee (HLC) set up by the varsity administration to discuss the revised hostel manual and hostel charges. The JNU administration, in a circular, said that the HLC considered the feedback of the student representatives submitted to the Dean of Students’ Office through emails. This came after days of protests by the JNU student as the varsity administration had given its nod to the new hostel manual, which included a fee hike. The revised manual will be implemented from January 2020. The JNU administration has appealed to the agitating students to end their strike with immediate effect. “The university’s image has already taken a beating and normalcy in the university must return at the earliest,” the circular said. The HLC has recommended that concessions in utility and service charges be given to all the students of the university while appreciating the 50 per cent concession given to the eligible BPL category students in these charges by the Executive Council. “The committee scrutinized the estimated utility and service charges in the hostels, which are Rs 2,000 per month (including electricity and water charges of Rs 300) and has recommended that Rs 1,000 per month may be charged, in place of Rs 2,000 per month, towards utility and service charges for all the students,” read the circular. The Committee has also recommended 75 per cent reduction in utility and service charges for all the eligible BPL students who would be charged Rs 500 in place of Rs 2,000 per month. “It is expected that 75 per cent concessions in utility and service charges to eligible BPL category students and 50 per cent concessions to the rest will go down well with the student community and stakeholders at large,” the circular said.
