Claims fee hikes is as high as 69%; average hike of around 40%

ES Newsdesk

RONO HILLS, Sep 1: The Rajiv Gandhi University Students’ Union (RGUSU) and RGU Research Scholars Forum went ahead with its first phase of protest by staging dharna with its 8-point charter of demands, mainly against the exorbitant fee hike on Tuesday morning and sat outside the vice chancellor’s office till the filing of this report for an audience from the RGU authorities.
In the morning, students currently residing in the Itanagar capital region attended the protest, displaying placards and shouting slogans against the hike in admission fees and the RGU authorities’ alleging lackadaisical attitude towards their demands.
Earlier, RGU Registrar T Riba spoke to reporters, wherein he claimed that about 80 percent of the students had paid the admission fees.  “There is no hike in fee. At the time of joining, every student gets a prospectus which cites the admission fees for each semester and it does not change till the fourth semester. The students already know how much they have to pay,” he said.
The registrar also informed that a committee was formed to look into the matter, which found that almost 80 percent of the students have paid their fees. “I don’t know why some departments have enrolled,” he added.

On enquiries regarding consideration of fee reduction due to the pandemic and lockdown, the registrar said, “The fees were not increased during the pandemic. The students know the fees have been the same since the first semester and they should have been prepared for their admissions.”
He also said that examinations fees were reduced for the intermediate and semester-end students.
Briefing on the matter, RGUSU president Dopum Sonam said that several departments had submitted separate representations seeking a concession in the admission fees for the current semester citing financial difficulties faced by the students and their families due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
“Since the RGU authorities did not consider any of the representations, some went ahead and paid the fees, while some students took the step of boycotting the admission process,” said Sonam adding that, many students who paid the admission fees must have managed the money with great difficulty.
“The particulars of the admission fee have also not been provided, and the students are blindly paying whatever amount the university seeks from us,” he said.
He also pointed out that they were not against a nominal fee hike, but against the hikes that reached as high as 60 percent since last year.
“The fee for MBA was Rs 17,350 in the last academic sessions. It leapt to Rs 23, 375 during the current session of 2020-21. The fee for the department of mass communication was Rs 10, 800 last year for the third semester. This year fee is Rs 16, 800. Similarly, the fees for MCA and M. Tech too have jumped from Rs 17,850 to Rs 24, 125,” he pointed out.
In the meantime, MA third semester students of computer applications and mass communication said that the current fee is too high and illogical for online classes.
The RGU authority should have taken lockdown period into consideration and reduced the fee this semester, claimed the students while adding, ‘we may not even have interactive classes, practical or field activities in the third semester, or use any of the facilities of the university. It feels like we are paying for exams instead of classes.’
They also pointed out that there are still many students left in other departments who have not paid the fees because their appeal letters were not accepted by the RGU, while some paid for the very same reason.
They also said that they would not participate in the admission process unless there was a concession in their admission fees.
Other demands of the RGUSU include extension of the admission date, furnishing details of particulars of fee, immediate refund of extra semester exam fees that students were charged multiple times, immediate refund of the extra amount paid by the non-practical subject students, immediate refund of previous year's (2019) semester examination fee, inclusion of RGUSU representatives as permanent members of the academic council meetings, as agreed on 16 November, 2019 and compulsory continuation of supplementary examination for final semester students wherever necessary.
By nightfall, the RGU issued a notification, extending the admission dates till September 7 next considering the Covid-19 pandemic and poor connectivity issues.
Till the filing of this report, the students said that they were yet to be called by the VC for a discussion.

RGU Authority responds to the appeals of RGUSU

Kenter Joya Riba

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