Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar announced that the campus will be reopened from Monday, 21 December, for research students in science streams.
As per the guidelines issued by the University, both daily scholars and hostellers who require access to the laboratory will be allowed to enter the campus, however, the Central Library, canteens and dhabas will remained closed.
Students and staff will have to follow protocols determined by the government that include a seven day self-quarantine for out-stationed students upon their arrival to Delhi, before rejoining the University.
If any staff member or student’s family members test positive or are under home isolation, they will have to inform the authorities immediately.
Inside labs, social distancing norms and allowing natural ventilation over air-conditioning have been advised. The guidelines advice students and staff to hold online meetings as far as possible and avoid social gatherings.
This decision has found criticism among the students and professors of humanities and social sciences, who find it discriminatory. The Telegraph quoted, Prof Mousumi Basu, secretary of the JNU Teachers’ Association as saying, “The students of social science are being discriminated against. They need to meet their supervisors, work on their research subjects. But the institution is only allowing science students.”
The University, like other educational institutions, have been shut since March, due to the pandemic outbreak. However, JNU has been trying to reopen in a phased manner since and has allowed day scholars and final-year PhD students, who require lab access, to enter the campus since early November.
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