NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has called off its seven-day-old relay hunger strike with the university administration accepting its major demands pertaining to increase in grants under various merit-cum-means (MCM) scholarship and earn-as-you-learn programmes.

According to JNUSU, the administration met the union representatives late on Thursday night and, following negotiations, accepted its major demands around 2-30 a.m. on Friday.

These demands included an increase in the MCM scholarship amount for the Bachelor and Master of Arts to Rs. 1,000 a month. The Master of Philosophy students will get Rs. 1,500 under the MCM programme from the current year. For the earn-as-you-learn programme, the Rs. 30 per hour grant will be increased to Rs. 50 per hour.

The JNU administration has also agreed in principle to increase the grants under the MCM for all eligible candidates to Rs. 1,500 per month.

A committee comprising representatives of the JNUSU and the JNU Teachers' Association will be constituted to ensure implementation of the proposals that also include increasing the entire income cap in JNU from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1 lakh and doubling the number of posts under the earn-as-you-learn programmes.

The administration also agreed to issue the notification for students' representation in the Academic Council and the Board of Study. "It has also categorically stated that the grade conversion formula -- devised to convert grades into percentage for facilitating admissions in other universities -- will not be effective in JNU," said a Union representative.

A committee to empower the Equal Opportunity Office to ensure that it redresses all grievances of deprived sections of students would also be constituted, the Union representative said. The JNUSU claimed that it was a partial victory for them and that they would continue to struggle to ensure that the proposals are implemented in totality.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail