After a series of protests over a recent fee hike, students at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) have now been asked to propose a revised fee structure by the institute administration.
In a meeting with the officials on Monday morning, the institute asked the students to propose a new fee structure as they had opposed the one introduced by the institute calling it an unjust hike.
“We have been asked to give a proposal of the hike by the institute officials. The student community would now come up with a detailed fee structure considering all the expenditure and other costs involved. The structure should be ready within this week,” said a student.
The institute recently declared a hike in its fee structure for both- undergraduate and postgraduate students — under several heads like hostel rent, gymkhana charges, medical expenses, and exam charges for the academic year 2017-18. The hike is for both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at the institute, and the hike ranges between 30-300 per cent.
The students claimed that after the hike, all those using hostel facilities would have had to pay anywhere between Rs 8,670 and Rs 11,170 higher than the usual at the end of the autumn semester, including the mess overdue for students staying in the hostel.
Following the hike, a students’ collective, ‘Students Against Fee Hike’ launched a protest rally and dialogues on June 22. On July 3, the students launched an indefinite relay hunger strike after which the management formed a committee to address the grievances of the students.
Students would now submit the revised structure after which the administration would take a call on the hike. IIT-B Director Devang Khakhar could not be reached for a comment.
NEED TO KNOW
- The institute hiked the hostel rent from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 per semester while gymkhana charges were raised from Rs 750 to Rs 2,000. Establishment charges have been hiked from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.
