Jindal University suspends classes citing ‘AC issues', students say it's breakdown of infra

The Print

4 hours ago

A cascade of issues followed, as several students fell sick, with bronchitis among other diseases. On the campus, a portion of the reading room ceiling also collapsed—a photo shows debris and broken desks scattered across the room—in what students said could have been a bigger crisis.
A Jindal University fifth-year law student told The Print that a semester ago, a severe mould infestation hit their one-year-old hostel block. They noticed streaks of condensed water on hostel walls where the mould spores were thriving, the student said on the condition of anonymity, fearing backlash.
New Delhi: Jindal University has suspended classes for a week, citing 'air-conditioning issues'. Students at the Sonipat-based university, however, report an infrastructural breakdown due to administrative delays in taking measures to check seepage and persistent mould in their hostels despite several complaints for months.
The letter that the Jindal University's registrar issued to announce the week-long suspension of classes started with the university 'acknowledging the concerns about the air conditioning issues in some of our residential hostels, while noting that systems are working fine in a few other residential hostels'.
However, what the university seems to be seeing as a 'minor disruption', students view as an infrastructural breakdown.
'One of our biggest problems this semester was water condensation. The only way to remedy the situation was to keep the room AC on at 15 degrees Celsius, all the time. Then, people started getting sick,' said the fifth-year law student.
The student herself is currently suffering from bronchitis. With the university's attendance policy no longer permitting medical leave for students, the infection continued to spread over the semester.
'We had mould on the ventilator in our bathroom. I have friends with asthma, and they have been most affected,' said another Jindal University student, also a law student, who has been suffering from sinusitis.
Photos and videos that the students showed ThePrint were of mould build-up in various dormitory rooms, walls thick with seepage, and water gushing into a hostel room.
Money 'not well-spent'
Jindal University law students spend Rs 2.4 lakh each semester on accommodations.
Students said they consistently raised their issues, but to no avail. For the most part, the Jindal University administration was dismissive and told students to redirect their concerns to Good Host Spaces, a private company responsible for looking after the hostels. However, the company sent them straight back to the university administration.
'There is no accountability, no acknowledgement. The university genuinely does not care. Students are never stakeholders. But we have been fighting tooth and nail with the administration,' said a third-year Jindal University student.
According to the students, they also had to purchase humidifiers using their funds, which the university did not think to compensate.
Jindal University has been facing a litany of complaints. Students have approached the administration with complaints of waterlogging during the monsoons, trash burning on the campus grounds, pest infestations, and an abundance of bird nests and faeces, especially from pigeons, which are also known to be carriers of diseases.
However, it is only now that the administration has finally woken up to solving problems.
According to students, they began sharing photos of the condition of their hostels on social media and airing their grievances publicly, after which parents started sending emails to the administration.
'The administration took note only after that. Everyone started emailing, and parents were reaching out, as well,' said another student.
Many Jindal University students, however, said that the extent of the issue was such that a week would not be enough to conduct all the required structural repairs.
'Our hostel, which has seen the most problems, was not even mentioned in the mail. It seemed very ChatGPT-esque,' the student commented on the registrar's letter. 'And, it (university administration) suspended classes in the middle of the semester when it had three months of summer break to do everything.'
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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