Given the background of the massive misinformation drive about the identity of Jawaharlal Nehru University in the last few years, the recent statement by the current vice-chancellor of JNU, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, on April 18 in an interaction with PTI, that JNU was never “anti-national” nor part of the “tukde-tukde” gang, is most heartening. She argued that “JNU is for the nation, not for any particular identity,” and added that “I always say that it stands for seven D’s — development, democracy, dissent, diversity, debate and discussion, difference and deliberation.” “When I studied [at JNU] it was the height of Left domination... they were critical but committed to nurturing dissent, debate, and democracy,” said Pandit. “Being critical and dissenting will not be called anti-national. I think the administration did not understand JNU and that was an unfortunate phase.” She mentioned that JNU plays an important role in the nation’s development, sighting the example of three Union ministers who were students in the university as well as several luminaries occupying high positions in the Union government, the media and countless educational institutions, including a leader of the Opposition and two Nobel laureates in economics in the United States of America. Such a positive assessment could be attributed to the fact that the current vice-chancellor has been an alumnus of JNU and, thus, knows it closely.
Not many realise that the emergence of JNU as a teaching and research university in the 1970s was a unique development and, if I may be allowed to say this, a miracle in the history of the university system in the country. As chairman of the University Grants Commission, I had the opportunity to watch closely the standards of universities which are more than 150 years old, such as the ones in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, but I am yet to see a public university in India that has acquired the top position in such a short amount of time. The JNU experiment began in 1969; by the early 1990s, people had begun to compare it with Cambridge.
What made JNU a high-level centre of excellence? The JNU vice-chancellor has identified excellence, inclusivity and diversity as the unique features of the educational institution. Indeed, these qualities place it at the top. A socially unique and regionally inclusive admission policy, admission test, method of examination and evaluation, inclusive governance and, above all, an excellent faculty with academic freedom and commitment are its hallmarks. Social inclusiveness came through an early adoption of the policy of reservation in admission for students from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes along with additional weightage points to low income earning families, women, and first-generation learners that enabled them to seek admission. Weightage was also given to those who come from backward districts. To enable academically weak students to catch up, a system of ‘Personalised Academic Assistance’ in English language and core subjects was implemented through the Equal Opportunity Office. An all-India character was ensured by conducting an entrance examination for admission in India’s main cities in all states as well as in Dhaka, Colombo, and Kathmandu.
Another unique feature of JNU’s admission process was a written test along with a face-to-face interview for undergraduate, Masters and MPhil/PhD degrees which helps in assessing the real merit of students. Interviewing hundreds of students for admission was a laborious process and went on for weeks. But it was adopted to select meritorious students.
Similar innovativeness was adopted in academic programmes. Other public universities adopted the semester and assessment system much later. I remember having issued reminders to universities and colleges to adopt the semester system and continuous assessment with less focus on written examination in mid-2000s as chairman of the UGC. However, JNU had adopted all these from its first academic session in 1970. Continuous assessment through analytical exercises, assignments, tutorials, seminars, term papers and essays was adopted for Masters and MPhil/PhD degrees. This brings out the best in students and enables them to develop academic capabilities to match their potential.
A decentralised and inclusive mode of governance is another redeeming feature of this university. JNU is possibly an exception in having students as members of the Academic Council and School- and Department-level Committees, which take decisions in consultation with them. Such decentralised decision-making also means a bottom-up governance system: from the Department/Centre to the School’s Board of Studies, to the Academic Council and, finally, to the Executive Council and vice versa. Exceptions apart, all policy decisions are taken with the consent of the stakeholders.
An equally important aspect is the respect for democratic values and their practices that has enabled JNU to sail through many troubled times. An administrator could insert democratic values in its functioning provided the stakeholders also developed a democratic and moral ethos. I remember an incident when the JNU Students’ Union had gone on a hunger strike on some demands that the administration and many faculty members thought unreasonable. The choice for the vice-chancellor was to call the police and forcefully end the hunger strike. But Y.K. Alagh, the then vice-chancellor, who came from Gujarat, resorted to a Gandhian method. He erected a tent in front of the protesting students and went on a counter-hunger strike against their unreasonable demands. This peaceful method immediately resulted in the withdrawal of the hunger strike and the beginning of negotiations.
Unfortunately, some of these unique features which brought JNU to the top among universities are being eroded. The eligibility test for admission for Masters/PhD has been given to the National Testing Agency; the written test for Masters has been withdrawn; the interview for PhD has been retained with 75% allotted to NET marks and 30% to the interview; the weightage for backward districts has been withdrawn for a PhD; the holding of the admission test in different cities is scrapped; there is less participation of students in academic decisions; the MPhil degree has been withdrawn. Even the autonomy of universities has been reduced, with the UGC issuing a directive every other week without consulting the educational institutions.
For JNU to regain its position, the unique features that made it a great institution need to be brought back in the form of inclusive admission, academic practices, and participatory governance.
Sukhadeo Thorat is Professor Emeritus, JNU, and former Chairman of the UGC
