JNUSU asks students to ‘mass file’ RTI pleas

The Hindu: New Delhi: Thursday, August 17, 2017.

Move aims to expose alleged corruption

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) will organise an event on Thursday calling on students to “mass file” applications under the Right to Information Act, seeking details from the administration on issues concerning admissions and appointments. The move is in keeping with its promise of exposing the alleged corruption at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

‘Complete opaqueness’

JNUSU general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty said, “This year saw complete opaqueness in the admission process, no public display of admission lists and scuttling of reservation. We urge every student to ask the administration questions.”

The students’ body asked all students to file RTI applications and put the administration under the lens after the JNU Teachers’ Association alleged that admissions were offered only to 53% of the seats and that there had been a dip in the number of admissions under the reserved category.

Merit list not published

The JNUSU had promised to expose corruption after several students were denied registration at the start of the new semester and were fined up to ₹20,000 for participating in protests and organising events near the Administration Block.

According to the JNUSU, it was the first time in the university’s history that the merit list of admissions was not in the public domain.

‘Avoiding scrutiny’

Questioning the secrecy, the JNUSU said this was to ensure that the administration escaped public scrutiny over fulfilment of intake and reservations. “First, the V-C imposed a 83% seat cut and destroyed the future of many M.Phil/Ph.D aspirants. Then the JNUTA analysis revealed that only 53% of the already reduced seats were offered to students,” said the students’ body.

‘Unprecedented’

JNUSU president Mohit Pandey said that it was common practice in the university that a complete list of candidates selected through the entrance examination was made available both online and offline. The non-publication of this list, he alleged, was to leave room for manipulation/reduction of the published number of seats in the JNU prospectus. “This step is unprecedented in the admission process of the institution, which demolishes the accountability and commitment to social justice that are the pillars of any public-funded university,” said Mr. Pandey.

The students hope the RTIs will give them access to information that helps build a case against the administration.