New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS): The unit of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday asked the administration to prefer research scholars when the educational services resume in the varsity.

The student body demanded this in a memorandum letter they submitted to the JNU administration. They also urged the university to provide a 6-month extension for Ph.D. students whose synopsis has been approved by the Committee for Advanced Study and Research (CASR).

Besides, the student body also suggested the varsity on how to resume the academics in the university.

"We have suggested resuming the educational process in the university in a phased manner, said Shivam Chaurasia, president of the JNU unit of ABVP. He also noted that research scholars must be given preference while doing so.

As per the ABVP, the university should resume the academics in five phases with a gap of 14 days between each phase:

Phase I- Laboratory going students be allowed to resume research activities.

Phase II- Non-laboratory students be allowed to conduct their regular academic research.

Phase III- All the final year Ph.D. students be allowed to resume research activities in

Phase IV- All terminating MA / M.Sc. / M.Tech and BA students be allowed to resume their academics.

Phase V- All remaining students be allowed to resume their studies.

Besides, the ABVP also demanded quarantine facilities be set-up at guest houses and select buildings for the students after they arrive at the varsity.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had released the Unlock 4.0 guidelines on August 29. It notified that schools, colleges, and other educational institutions would remain closed up to September 30 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the guidelines also mentioned that only research scholars (Ph.D.) and post-graduate students of technical and professional programs requiring laboratory or experimental works would be permitted in their institutes after consultation between the department of higher education and MHA, based on the assessment of the situation of COVID-19 in states and UTs.

"The students in the final year of their programs have been the worst affected due to the lockdown. Now that the MHA has ordered the reopening of institutes for students pursuing research and post-graduation, the administration needs to act upon it urgently," said Govind Dangi, Secretary of ABVP-JNU