New Delhi: Several students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were issued notices and fined Rs 2,000 by the administration for allegedly entering hostels before the varsity officially allowed the re-entry of hostellers, according to news reports.
An additional fine of Rs 2,000 would be charged if the students failed to deposit the fine in one week, following which action will be initiated against them, the students of Koyna Hostel told the Hindustan Times. The notices were issued to at least five residents of the hostel.
Students had gone back to their hometowns during the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 in March. However, even after demanding for a phased re-entry of all students since September, they were not allowed to return to campus. For now, only final year PhD, M.Tech and M.Phil students in science streams are allowed to enter the campus in a phased manner, the report said.
The JNU students’ union has been demanding phased return of all students since most of the other institutes have initiated such processes, the report added.
The hostel administration cited the point 2.5.9 of the hostel manual which states that “any resident ‘lodging an unauthorised person’ shall be liable to fine and such other disciplinary action as may be decided by the wardens or higher authorities.”
Debayanti Bhowmick, an MPhil student from School of Social Sciences residing at Koyna hostel, told the Hindustan Times, “I returned to Delhi in November for my academic work and had to return to campus because I could not afford to live anywhere else and now, the hostel has imposed a fine of Rs 2,000. They are using the section used for ‘unauthorised guests’ in the hostel manual. How can I be an ‘unauthorised guest’ in the hostel room I pay for and which houses my belongings.”
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The issue of student housing without hostel access
JNU students’ union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh, a resident of Koyna hostel, also received a notice on Thursday, which stated: “As it had come to our notice that Ms Aishe Ghosh….has been seen in Koyna Hostel on November 5 at 4.30 am as informed by security guard… Hence the committee decides to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 on Ghosh.”
Three students from Chandrabhaga hostel were also fined. Anand Yesodharan, a postgraduate student from School of Arts and Aesthetics, told the Hindustan Times that he returned to the campus on November 1 after he had e-mailed his warden about his return to Delhi.
“I had conveyed that I do not have any other accommodation in Delhi and had gotten my COVID-19 test. Yet, a penalty of Rs 2,000 was imposed on me a week after that. This is a ridiculous move because bonafide students of the campus are being accused of “illegal entry”.
According to the report, the notice mentioned that his act of breaking the lock of the room and staying in it was a “breach of hostel rules and norms as double locks put by hostel authority cannot be opened without appropriate permission.”
Sapna Ratan Shah, senior warden at Koyna Hostel, told the Hindustan Times, “Those students who had broken the locks (of rooms) and illegally entered the hostels, the warden committee decided to impose fines on them because the inter-hall administration (IHA) guidelines state that fines will be imposed on students who engage in unauthorised entry.” The IHA is a body which manages 18 JNU hostels.
Former dean of students Umesh Kadam told the Hindustan Times that the students should not enter the campus before consulting with the administration and warden. “There can be a risk of superspreaders if too many students enter the campus at once. However, imposing penalties on them also cannot be the way forward. The students and the administration should hold dialogue on how to address the issue,” he said.
Several reports said lack of hostel access across different parts of the country has been affecting students and escalating the cost of education for some students.
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There are also reports of hostel wardens turning away students on the grounds that they cannot arrange food for only a few students. “The wardens are telling us that it will not be possible to open the hostel and provide food for just two or three students. They told us to come back after a week,” a final year BA student of Bangalore University told the Hindu last month.
The report highlighted another student’s distress who is from a village in Kolar. The student, who is enrolled in a government college in Bengaluru, said that prior to the lockdown she had quarters in a hotel for students belonging to backward classes. But the hostel is still closed.
“I came to Bengaluru and I am now staying with my relatives. They have told me to start attending classes only once the hostel re-opens so that I do not expose myself to COVID-19 while commuting, and infect them,” she told the Hindu.
According to the UGC guidelines issued in November, universities and colleges are requested to “plan the opening of campuses in phases, with such activities where they can easily adhere to social distancing, use of face masks and other protective measures”.
It further added that some students may opt not to attend classes and prefer to study online while staying at home. For them, the institutions may provide online study material and access to e-resources for teaching and learning.
Apart from these guidelines, proper signages, symbols, posters etc. should be prominently displayed at appropriate places to remind the students, faculty and staff for maintaining physical distancing.