Hyderabad: In what is seen as a rare occurrence at the premier Institution, PhD and Post Graduate students of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad protested against the administration’s apathy regarding fee hikes on Wednesday.
According to protestors, who did not want to be named out of fear of being targeted by the institution, over 200 people turned up outside the institute’s academic buildings.
Despite numerous emails being sent to the administration regarding the fee hike from June, they have turned a blind eye to the students’ requests, one of the protesting students told Siasat.com.
There is an incremental rise in fees every semester, according to the protestors.
“PhD scholars who paid Rs 40,000 per semester in 2018 are now paying Rs 60,000 per semester,” the student added.
Students also complain of the existence of various “establishment” fees, that are levied on them.
On top of the mess and hostel fees paid to the University, students are being asked to pay “Hostel and Mess Establishment and Amenities charges” amounting to Rs 10,000.
“We are also made to pay for the establishment of a sports complex which the government and institute should have taken care of it,” they alleged.
The ‘Student Gymkhana’, IITH’s student council, and authorities failed to address the issues in the emails sent by students, leading to the protest.
“This was the first time that the students showed this kind of solidarity,” one of the protestors said.
The sit-in protest went on for over three hours.
After inaction from the authorities, protestors entered the academic building, pressuring the Director to have a dialogue with them, one of the students said.
Protestors said that while addressing the students, the institute’s Director gave very “vague” responses, blaming fund cuts from the Ministry of Education for the fee hike. The Director supposedly justified that students need to pay for maintenance as they are availing of facilities.
After discussions, the protesting students agreed to a two-day wait suggested by the Director to arrive at a feasible solution.
