The students of Panjab University have been protesting inside and outside the campus demanding rollback of fee hike. Some students have also been on hunger strike for last 12 days
IndiaTomorrow.net,
Chandigarh, April 15: The Governor of Punjab has directed Panjab University (PU) to review fee hike which triggered a clash between students and Police last Tuesday leaving over 50 people injured including students, policemen and some journalists.
Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh, a Union Territory, V.P. Singh Badnore on Friday asked PU to review all issues including fee hike in “holistic manner”.
On Tuesday, at least 66 students were booked under sedition charges by Punjab Police as the protest turned violent and clash erupted between students and police.
The students of Panjab University have been protesting inside and outside the campus demanding rollback of fee hike. Some students have also been on hunger strike for last 12 days.
As per media reports, the annual fees for BA and BCom courses, for instance, have been hiked to Rs 10,000 from Rs 2,200. The fee of BE (Chemical Engineering) was increased from Rs. 7740/- to Rs. 90,000/- per annum, BPharma Course (From Rs 5,080 to Rs. 50,000, MA- Journalism (From Rs. 5,290 to Rs. 30,000), BDS (From Rs. 86,400 to Rs. 1.50 Lakh).
The fee hike was being opposed by the Students for Society (SFS) and other student organisations, including Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), Students of Panjab University (SOPU) and Students Organisation of India (SOI).
The fee hike, to be applicable from the coming (2017-18) academic session, is over 100 per cent in some courses.
University authorities said that they were forced to hike the fees for various courses following directions from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry and the University Grants Commission.
The university has been grappling with financial crisis for the last two-three years with grants from the Centre and the Punjab government not coming regularly.
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With inputs from IANS
