Fee Hike Spurs Protests At BITS Pilani Campuses

NEW DELHI: For the past few days, the students of BITS Pilani campuses have staged protests against the new stipulated fee hike by the university administration. Engaging in the protests amidst their end-semester examinations, the students have demanded that the fee hike be called off with immediate effect.

The tuition fees of the BITS Pilani campuses have been increased at the rate of 15% every year causing the fees to go from Rs. 89,000 to an exorbitant Rs. 1,59,000 in a matter of just four years. Apart from this, the students also have to bear the costs of hostel and mess which rounds off to more than Rs. 2 lakh per annum.

With a viable cause, the protest enters its sixth day with the administration displaying a reluctance to follow through with the demands of the students.

At the Hyderabad campus, the students have been protesting outside the Director’s office, spending their nights huddled under the street lamps trying to study for the ongoing examinations.

Aishwarya Rebelly of the Journal Club of BITS Pilani (Hyderabad) said “Without the Vice Chancellor (VC), a decision cannot be formulated. The VC was supposed to meet the student representatives but will only speak on Friday. It will be hard to garner the momentum later as the examinations are coming to an end and students will return home.”

Yesterday, the students were able to have an interaction with the Director here at the Hyderabad Campus. Regarding this, a student who wishes to remain anonymous, stated, “It was unfortunately inconclusive as the conversation went on in circles. The administration iterated that no guarantee can be given right now but gave assurances that the new fee structure won’t be implemented until the situation cools down. We all think it was an unsatisfactory interaction.”

Deputy Registrar of BITS Pilani (Hyderabad) told The Citizen, ‘We are in the process of resolving this problem and have not yet received any decision to communicate’. He added, ‘We can’t say when the resolution will come since the Vice Chancellor is not well and has gone to Delhi with some emergency requirement.’

Five days earlier, at the onset of the protests, a panel of students belonging to the BITS Pilani (Pilani) campus, had gathered to discuss the matter with the Director of BITS, A.K. Sarkar, who responded by saying that the final authority was not in his hands. The students remarked that the dialogue was disappointing as it gave no scope of a resolution.

Speaking to a student of BITS Pilani who wishes to remain anonymous, it was stated “the Director just went away after an unsatisfactory interaction. The VC arrived the same day but did not wish to engage in any dialogue. Students have been trying to reach him but he hasn’t been available for comments.” He went on to add “The students are very respectful to the institute but the only problem is the administration which is not telling us how the finances work.”

“The Rs. 1,59,000 is just labeled as tuition fees and it isn’t revealed in what all the money is spent in. There is no detailed quotation of it. We wish to know where our hard earned money goes.”

A student at the BITS Pilani campus of Goa has said “We are gathering as well in the protests and we will stay united against this fee hike. The administration must answer.”

The three campuses of Hyderabad, Pilani and Goa are now protesting in unison and awaiting the administration’s resolution. A flurry of tweets have come out describing the situation in vivid details with many describing a hunger strike that has been ongoing.

Students are actively putting forward their frustrations on social media platforms. What is notable, however, is that the protest has not witnessed a single violent confrontation till now.

Numerous university administrations, in the past, have increased their fees and faced backlashes from students who could not bear the brunt of the hike. Last year, Punjab University with a 40% hike was marred in protests which turned violent, leaving behind several injured. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University of Delhi had also faced protests for a fee hike of 32%. Other institutions of repute such as IIT Bombay and Tata Institute of Social Sciences had also followed the same policy, giving more light to the pattern of exorbitantly increasing fees for a student population that could not pay.

(Cover Photo: Students protesting at the Pilani Campus Auditorium, Credits: Twitter-Raghavendra Nimiwal)