NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MAY 18
The students of Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have demanded the immediate roll back of steep hike in hostel fees. They also flayed it as unjust during the pandemic period as many of the students’ families have been undergoing severe economic impact owing to job loss, and salary cuts, says a student leader.
According to a student of Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, “The authorities of IIT Gandhinagar have hiked the hostel fees for the summer term of 2021. The hostel fee has been hiked by a massive 87.5% from Rs. 4000 to Rs. 7500. No concrete reason has been provided for the fee hike of the authorities, except for a vague ‘the rise in operational costs’. It was intimated by an email from the Associate Dean of Student Affairs (Raghavan Ranganathan).”
He added that the pandemic has ravaged the economy of the country, and many of the students and their families have lost their incomes. Many of the students have also lost their family members due to the pandemic. Repeated appeals of the student body to waive the fees have not been heeded by the authorities. As usual, they have suggested the option of taking soft loans from the institute, which is not a viable option for many. No intimation has been provided on the reduction of the fees either.
Students flay insensitivity of authorities
There have been reports of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs remarking in a meeting with the student Senate that the amount is not a lot and students should not have any difficulty in paying it. The remark reflects the lack of sensitivity of the authorities towards the students.
Returning home is not an option for many of the students. They have to attend online classes and carry on with their own research. The blatant disregard of the authorities towards the interests of the students shows how the institution’s motto, “students first” is hollow and untrue. The hostel fees for the summer term should be waived off with immediate effect for all the students who are staying on campus. Furthermore, there should be no increase in the fees for the upcoming semesters owing to the grim financial conditions that many of the student’s families are going through due to the pandemic.
