JNU overwhelmingly votes against UGC notification

New Delhi: The JNU students community on Wednesday responded with an emphatic 'no' in a referendum conducted here asking whether a UGC notification on M.Phil and Ph.D admissions was acceptable to them.

The referendum was conducted on Tuesday by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) asking 'Should JNU accept VC's unilateral imposition of May 5, 2016 UGC notification for the conduct of M.Phil and Ph.D admissions?'

A total of 3,455 students voted in the referendum, of which 3,398 voted against the notification, while a mere 45 voted in support. 

The referendum was against a University Grants Commission notification that proposed a change in the admission process for the M.Phil and Ph.D aspirants. 

Many students protested against the adoption by the university of UGC notification on December 26, some of whom later went on a hunger-strike intensifying their opposition. 

The notification -- which proposed 100 per cent weightage to viva voce and reducing entrance examination to a qualifying criteria -- was later discussed by the Steering Committee for Admissions of the varsity, which came up with a few changes in the procedure, while promising to raise the issues of the students with the UGC subsequently. 

Another reason behind the referendum was the Vice-Chancellor's contention that it was only a handful of students who were holding the entire campus captive to their ideology, whereas most of the students and teachers were happy with the changes.