Patiala, October 31
Protesting the hike in course fee, students of Punjabi University, Patiala, met Secretary, Higher Education, Punjab, to seek extra grants for the cash-strapped institution.
The students are holding an indefinite protest outside the Vice-Chancellor's office.
The university in its defence said the course fee had been only rationalised. However, the administration and students have failed to reach a consensus.
The state government should provide the required grants for the university's functioning. The university is in a financial mess and it is the state government's job to come to its rescue. The course fee should not be increased to fill the university coffers. Sandeep Kaur, a student
The narrative that the financial burden is being thrown on the shoulders of students is wrong. There is no drastic increase in the fees. We have increased fees of some courses and decreased those of others. Therefore, we have only rationalised it. Prof Arvind, Vice-Chancellor
Students, meanwhile, said the state government failed to provide required grants to the university because of which the course fee had been increased.
Sandeep Kaur, a law student associated with Punjab Radical Student Union, said: "The state government should provide the required grants for the university's functioning. The university is in a financial mess and it is the state government's job to come to its rescue. The course fee should not be increased to fill the university coffers."
The students met Secretary, Higher Education, Krishan Kumar and sought financial help for the university.
Nirbhai, one of the students who visited Kumar's office, said: "We discussed the financial status and pending matters of mismanagement and scams committed on campus with the Secretary. He assured us his office will take measures to sort out the issues."
University officials when contacted said of the special Rs90 crore grant announced in the yearly budget, the government had released around Rs54 crore to the university.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Arvind said: "The narrative that the financial burden is being thrown on the shoulders of students is wrong. In fact, there is no drastic increase in the fees. We have increased fees of some courses and decreased those of others. Therefore, we have only rationalised it." — TNS
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2ZLOjWG
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