The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Saturday criticized the “non-cooperation” situation of JNU management to set up a COVID care center on the campus. In a statement, signed by JNUTA president Milap C Sharma and secretary Moushumi Basu, he called on university officials not to be “problematic” and flexible in demanding citizens’ action.
The teachers’ union said it would be “a criminal offense” to keep institutions closed and not give them to needy citizens. “JNUTA strongly condemns the non-cooperation of JNU management in responding to proposals for the opening of COVID management centers within the campus, in accordance with the guidelines of the Gated Residential Complexes which seeks to establish a small COVID care facility issued by the Delhi government on 18 April 2021,” it said.
The organization said with the medical information provided by the government, it was also important to set up oxygen dormitories on campus to help anyone in dire straits until a hospital bed was available. “The difficult and almost reckless situation of the university administration, we fear that it could have serious consequences for the entire JNU. To avoid this, JNUTA would also like to urge the university authorities not to be complacent and to be flexible in the demands of the community. It would be a crime to keep key locks out of the reach of needy citizens,” said JNUTA.
JNUTA also suggested using the on-campus guesthouse, Aravali, which has not been used since April 2020, the HDRC and JNIAS Residential Centers to separate themselves by letter to the assistant district magistrate in New Delhi on Friday. At the request of JNUTA, a team led by the sub-magistrate visited the campus on Friday afternoon to inspect the guest houses that had been proposed for use as segregation centers.
“While the proposed guest houses have been found to be inadequate, the lack of good commitment made by the university management to do this work did not produce the desired results. JNUTA was informed by district administrators that the establishment of COVID administrative centers within the campus would not have been possible without the cooperation of university administrators,” JNUTA said. Guidelines issued by the Delhi government provide a comprehensive manual for establishing such institutions,” the teachers said. and RWAs who are initially in the acquisition of beds and other facilities, at JNU, have fully provided rooms with attached bathrooms that can be used for this purpose.
“If RWAs throughout the city are not able to meet this challenge, why not JNU?” asks the teachers. “Other institutions such as IIT-Delhi have created similar facilities, which have helped reduce the burden on campus residents. JNU management must also address this challenge and readily agree to provide guest houses and vacant living spaces for them to be segregated / isolated,” they added.
JNUTA also urged management to incorporate expertise in the public health sector into the COVID response team. It said nationwide epidemiologists, including the JNU faculty at the Center for Social Medicine and Community Health, had repeatedly noted the disturbing link between high-profile cases in various parts of India and inadequate administrative response to health infrastructure.
“JNU is no exception and in the last two weeks there has been a huge increase in cases, creating panic and pressure on residents. The problems faced by many intellectual and administrative staff living in overcrowded housing on the campus to successfully separate poor family members are enormous. Strengthening the testing and construction of asymptomatic segregation centers with small compass cases is another important factor, says a teacher’s body. Delhi has been reporting a record number of cases and deaths since the past few days hospitals are struggling to manage patient burden.
