Tezpur University slammed for 'insensitive' and 'brutal' fees hike move
- Aug 11, 2021,
- Updated Aug 11, 2021, 12:42 AM IST
By Devabrata Dutta
GUWAHATI: At a time when the country's economy is in turmoil and people are losing their livelihoods in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tezpur University's move to hike fees has drawn widespread criticism from the student community. The Students Federation of India (SFI) has termed the move to be brutal, insensitive and ruthless.
The Tezpur University has allegedly hiked the fees of post-graduation courses by Rs. 3000 in the last two academic years and by Rs. 1350 for Ph.D courses.
"Fees in Tezpur University are already way higher than any other central university in India be it Assam University, Rajiv Gandhi University, Mizoram University, Jawaharlal Nehru University or Hyderabad University. They wanted to increase the fees in 2019 itself showing inflation but could not as students demanded to increase the fellowship money. Since students are at home due to lockdown and nobody is at the campus to oppose, they are increasing the fees each year," said a Ph.D. student speaking with InsideNE on the condition of anonymity.
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He added, "Above that, they have issued a notice on Friday to take admission in two days between August 2 and 4. Is it possible for everyone to arrange Rs. 15,000 to 20,000 in just two days? Is not it insensitive and brutal to ask the students to take admission in just two days? Over 200 Ph.D. scholars could not take admission due to financial crunch."
Reportedly, Tezpur University has increased by 193 per cent fees just in one decade. Another student of the University has also accused that the students did not receive institutional fellowships regularly on time either.
"In just one year, students who have enrolled in Ph.D., have paid Rs. 35,000 already," the Ph.D. student informed.
On the other hand, the Student Federation of India (SFI) has also opposed the decision made by Tezpur University and called it "brutal" and "ruthless."
"In the light of the pandemic and the economic distress in the country, the University Grant Commission has asked universities and colleges to be sympathetic regarding fees payment and if feasible, may consider offering alternative payment options to students till the situation returns to normalcy.
But Tezpur University paid no heed to the UGC directive. Instead, the University Administration is being ruthless in their approach," SFI stated in a press communiqué.
"It is important to note that the students have not been on campus due to COVID lockdown. In such a light, an increase in the above-mentioned categories makes no logical sense. Logically, the students should have been paying fewer fees as the cost of consumables has decreased due to lockdown," SFI pointed out.