The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration Thursday submitted a notice to the Delhi High Court that the UGC notification which sets a limit of eight students per professor for M.Phil and Ph.D. courses was binding on all varsities in the country. The lawyer representing JNU said that it is not the discretion of any university to apply or reject the notification.
“The said notification is binding and is mandatory in nature, and is to be followed by all the Universities (Central, State, and Deemed Universities), including JNU,” said the lawyer representing JNU.
A group of students has UGC’s gazette notification of May 5, 2016, that mandates every university maintain a ratio of one professor per eight students for the Ph.D. and MPhil programs. Senior advocate Arvind Nigam, appearing for the students, said he did not doubt the validity of the UGC notification but was rather challenging the procedure through which JNU adopted it. The court will hear the case next on March 7.
According to the petitioner, the notification will not only affect the existing student but would also result in a very handful of students in the current academic session, thus it is in a way a sort of violating the mandated reservation rules.
JNU, in its affidavit, has stated that the adoption of the notification was in accordance with the provisions of the JNU Act and other rules and policies of the university.
“Due process has been followed in the adoption of the regulation through its statutory bodies. It is reiterated that New Admission Policy, 2016, is in accordance with the reservation policy of the government of India and therefore any apprehension in this regard are misplaced. Existing JNU students will not be affected by the new admission policy,” the affidavit stated.
