IIT Bombay students continue to be on hunger strike over fee hike

IIT Bombay students continue to be on hunger strike over fee hike

Last Updated Aug - 08 - 2022, 10:15 AM | Source : The FELA | Indian Express | Visitors : 35

IIT Bombay students who started a hunger strike over fee hike on August 6, have now complained that the administration has threatened them and has discouraged t

New Delhi: Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay started a relay hunger strike on Saturday for the ongoing protest against the most recent fee increase. Students have now complained that the administration has threatened them and has discouraged them from protesting. The administration claimed that the demonstration was unnecessary because a dialogue had already been started with the students and the tuition increase was justifiable.

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Due to the reunion convocation event on campus for batches that graduated during the pandemic and missed the traditional convocation celebration, the location for the hunger strike had to be relocated twice. Initially, the administration wrote an email to all of the students threatening stern action, such as the removal of hostel access, if the protest disrupted the event in any way.

The administration’s decision to increase fees by about 35 percent, which students have labeled arbitrary, has allegedly infuriated postgraduate students at the institute. This agitation started in early July when the IIT-B administration first proposed a fee hike of nearly 35 percent for all their postgraduate programs.

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Students have demanded immediate revocation of the recent fee hike. They have also demanded revocation of a resolution passed by the Board for governors that recommends a 5 percent annual fee hike, based on which this particular fee hike was implemented, said a statement released by protesting students, as reported by media outlets. Students have also demanded for inclusion of student representatives in the fee hike committee.

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