At Visva-Bharati,a fresh row over fee hike

The annual fee for undergraduate courses has been revised from Rs 679 to Rs 5,590 and for postgraduate courses it has been hiked from Rs 889 to Rs 6,4440. On the other hand,the annual fee for research students has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 14,000. The agitation was started by the students backed by the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad. Later,they were supported by other unions including Chhatra Parishad,DSO and Research Scholars’ Association. The Karmi Sabha (employees association ) and Shikshak Samitee ( teachers’ association ) of the university have also extended their moral support to the protesting students. “Most students in our university are from the middle class and so the fee structure was kept in such a manner that it did not discourage the students from the weaker section. There is no justification for such a hike and the strike will continue till it is withdrawn,” said Chinmoy Hazra,the general secretary of the Trinamool-backed students’ union. Meanwhile the authorities claimed that there have been no fee hike in the university for the last 30 years.

However,late last night the strike was called off.