JNU asks 232 final year students to vacate hostel rooms by May 31, triggers concern | Delhi News

NEW DELHI: A total of 232 final-year students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have been issued eviction notices and asked to vacate hostel rooms by May 31, triggering concern among students who say the move comes at a time when their thesis submission and final examination are due.The eviction notices, put up across several hostels in the past week, state that hostel accommodation for PhD students of batches 2017 to 2021, as well as students from Master’s, integrated Bachelor’s-Master’s, Master in Computer Application (MCA), MTech, and BTech programmes ( batches 2020, 2023) nearing completion, will be discontinued by the end of May in line with the university’s academic calendar.“All students concerned are requested to vacate their hostel rooms and clear their No Dues certificates by May 31, 2025…. Failing to do so, mess and hostel facilities will be discontinued from June 1, 2025,” read one of the notices dated May 8.“No extension of stay will be granted by the hostel beyond May 31, 2025 under any circumstances. For any kind of extension request, students must seek prior approval from the Inter-Hall Administration (IHA) office,” another hostel circular issued on May 13 said. Non-compliance will be met with action as per university rules, it said.The timing of the eviction notice, students said, had left many in a difficult position. “I belong to the 2018 batch of the integrated MA-PhD programme. We are typically allowed six years to complete our PhD, which means my submission deadline should be in 2026. Even after that, the rules allow a further extension of four semesters if approved. I submitted my MPhil in 2023, so my PhD tenure began after that. Despite this, I’ve received an eviction notice.During COVID, the university was closed for nearly two years. Shouldn’t that be factored in? And it’s not like there’s a space crunch. Barak hostel was recently opened, and there is ample accommodation. Why should outstation students like me be forced to pay rent outside while continuing our research?” said a student, requesting anonymity.A Master’s student pointed to another problem. “Earlier, students were given an extension of up to a month to prepare for the JNU entrance and UGC-NET/JRF. Now that JNUEE has been discontinued, the administration is saying such extensions won’t be granted. But UGC-NET is next month, and we’re being asked to vacate right before that. It’s completely unreasonable.”Responding to the students’ concerns, the dean of students’ welfare, professor Manuradha Chaudhary, said the notices were in line with the university policy. “The hostel stay is linked to the academic calendar, and once a student’s final semester ends, their hostel tenure ends too. Students can continue their academic work if they are within the maximum period allowed, but the hostel cannot accommodate them beyond this point.We also need to make space for new admissions,” she told TOI.Chaudhary added that in a few cases, one-month extensions have been granted as a special consideration for students preparing for entrance or fellowship exams. “We have considered some requests for extension under special circumstances for a one-month extension till June 30,” she said.According to university officials, the eviction is part of the annual hostel turnover process to make space for incoming students.