The engineering students of the JNU will pay the same hostel fees as prescribed for the other students, according to a circular issued by the university. This is a temporary arrangement till the time the engineering students get a hostel building of their own, the circular said.
The students' union was putting forth this demand for a long time. The circular was issued on April 1 but was not made public, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) vice-president Saket Moon said. "It was only after we went to the office of the Dean of Students to stage a protest over the issue on Wednesday that we were handed the circular. We had protested over the issue on April 1," he added.
A meeting regarding hostel issues was held in March and the minutes of the meeting were approved by the Executive Council on March 26, the circular said.
"The following temporary arrangements may be made from Monsoon Semester 2021 till a separate hostel building is constructed for the students of School of Engineering. The Damodar Hostel may be allotted for the first year and second year students of School of Engineering. The third year students of School of Engineering may be shifted to other hostels. "During this temporary arrangement, normal hostel fees as prescribed for other students...may be charged from the students of School of Engineering," it read.
JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said they will continue to ensure that the fee structure is equitable for all students. "After a long struggle, the hostel fees for Engineering students of JNU has finally been made equal to that of the rest of JNU. Further, final year students of engineering shall be allotted hostels in the main campus.
"While the administration has stated that this shall be until a special hostel is constructed for the engineering students, the JNUSU shall continue the struggle and ensure the fee structure in JNU is equitable and affordable for all," she said in a Facebook post.
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