As many as 98 percent of students in JNU have voted against the imposition of compulsory attendance in a referendum conducted by the JNUSU. The results were announced on Thursday.
A total of 4456 students participated in the referendum on Wednesday. While 4388 (98.7 percent) voted against compulsory attendance, 41 (0.92) voted in its favour. The remaining 27 votes were rendered invalid.
In a statement released on Thursday, JNUSU said, “The vote for ‘yes’ is a vote for JNU, its excellence and its time-tested norm of accountability,
Students say that they are not against accountability but the compulsory attendance which will restrict them to do their research. Students also feel that the new guidelines are very harsh and introduce punitive measures, especially in the background that students were not consulted or informed before this measure was taken.
Both the JNUSU and the JNUTA have disapproved implementation of the compulsory attendance system. Students were protesting this move since the guidelines were declared on February 8, 2018.