BITS Pilani students demand relaxation in tuition fee amid COVID-19 situation
The students of Birla Insitute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani are demanding relaxation in the tuition fee of the current semester. BITS Pilani issued a notice on July 15 regarding the fee submission for this semester. According to students, the institute has not asked for mess or hostel charges so far.
The students told indiatvnews.com that such a 'huge' amount of tuition fee should not be charged in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The students of the college are demanding that there should be no raise this year and the tuition fees should remain the same considering the pandemic.
Fee notice for all the students
Other than the tuition fee, the students have been asked to submit the fees for Practice school-2 (PS-2) which is a six-month internship programme. Those students who are pursuing a single-degree course are eligible for PS-2 in 4th year and students who are pursuing a dual- degree are eligible in the 5th year.
Fee submission notice for PS-II students
"The problem is that tuition fee is already way too high. But in the current situation when we are not using any offline resources, is this fair? I have a friend whose father lost his job. Another batchmate lost her father due to coronavirus which makes her situation even worse. Her mother is a housewife and no one knows, how she will be able to manage," said a third-year student.
Fee structure for the student who took admission in 2019-20 session
In 2018, a massive protest took place against the fee hike. After the protests, a margin was set every year to increase the fees and the students were informed about the detailed fee structure and the yearly hike at the time of admission.
"This year our semester is completely online and we won't be using many of the campus resources. Due to this reason, we expected a drop in the fee this year. But instead of reducing the fee we are asked to pay the increased fee that we already knew but we expected they will consider the current situation," another student said.
"We have sent emails to the administration about the fee hike. The COVID pandemic has put constraints on our parents' income. The university should consider this and not raise fees," a student added.
Indiatvnews.com tried to contact the university but has not received any response so far. We will update the story as and when we receive a response.
