Varsity to review PhD fee

The Ph D students, mainly those pursuing their thesis under the Council of Scientific and Industrial programme at National Chemical Laboratory, gheraoed the main entrance of VC’s office in the old main building and shouted slogans flaying the fee hike.

The students described the more than four-fold hike in tuition fees as “highly unjust” and demanded its immediate withdrawal. The students shouted slogans against the varsity circular according to which the students from outside the State have to pay double the hiked tuition fees for State students.

“It is highly discriminatory that the varsity is seeking to discriminate the students on the basis of the States to which they belong. It is atrocious on part of the varsity and its management council for approving and implementing such a biased ordinance,” remarked one of the protesting students.

It may be recalled that the management council, in its meeting held on July 24, had rejected the withdrawal of implementation of revised fee-hike. The council had, however, decided to exempt the already-registered students from the new fee structure and implement the same for new students.

The students also read out the order given by the Bombay High Court to the Bombay University in which the students challenged the varsity’s Ph D tuition fee hike and dual fee structure for home and outside-State students during the academic year 1992-93. In that case the court upheld the equality in education and described the hike as against the Constitution.

“It is really surprising that Pune University office bearers are not even aware of the court order and have hiked the fees and implemented the dual fee structure which is highly discriminatory,” said the students’ representative.