Jamia Polytechnic Students Protest Against Fee Hike

Around 8 o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, May 7th, about 200 Jamia Polytechnic students gathered at the entrance to the Admin block, which leads to the vice-chancellor’s office, to protest against the tuition fee hike for the Diploma Engineering evening program.

According to the students protesting at the scene, Jamia — without any notification — increased their tuition fee from about Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 23,000 for the next year. Students were upset they were being asked to pay an exorbitant amount in the middle of their Diploma Engineering program.

According to a student protester, combined for all three years, there are about 1200 students in the evening Diploma Engineering program, out of which 2/3rd will be affected by this fee hike.

A distraught second-year Diploma Engineering student told Jamia Journal:

When we got our tuition fee slip today, we were shocked to notice that the fee had increased to 23,000 from about 12,000 last year. How can they just change the fee like that in the middle of the program. We enrolled in the program because we could afford to arrange 12,000 rupees every year. But now it’s too much. Moreover, how can Jamia expect us to pay an extra 10,000 rupees in a matter of one week. This is unfair. There are literally several students who cannot afford to pay this amount and will have to drop out from the program because of it. Two years of education, all for nothing.

Another student said:

First we spoke to the head of the department about this, who told us to speak to the director of Jamia Polytechnic. So then we spoke to the director who said there was nothing he could do. And that’s why we are gathered here to speak to the VC. 

At first students stood at the gate demanding to speak to the vice-chancellor, but nothing seemed to come of it, so by 9 p.m. students left the scene promising to come back to protest the next day.

Overall the protest was peaceful and uneventful.