The Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), that suspended classes till the weekend to take the steam out of the students agitation over the fee hike, is resorting to new method to pacify the affected students.
The administration is inviting the parents who can’t afford the enhanced fee for direct talks with them to find out their economic capabilities so as to extend scholarships. Parents of second-year students are being contacted personally saying that the administration would help them if there was a real need.
At the same time, the administration is sending a message that it can’t roll back the fee structure as it was suggested by the High Court based on their demand for a much higher fee. The administration argues that enhanced fee will not impact large number of students as most of them were covered by the Fee Reimbursement Scheme of the Government.
According to statistics taken out by the administration to invite the parents, 600 odd students out of the 1,000 odd admitted were already covered by the reimbursement scheme as they fall in the below 10,000 EAMCET rank category. Among them are the SC and ST candidates whose fee is reimbursed by the Central Government, they say. Among the remaining 400-odd, 15% are admitted in the NRI category.
“So the problem is with the 350 odd students and the management would be ready to help them if their economic conditions are poor and those who really can’t afford. The same case applies to first-year students as well. That is why we are calling the parents to talk to them directly and assess their position,” a senior teacher said.
Students unrelenting
However, students are unrelenting and with the support of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) have decided to continue the agitation till the enhanced fee hike is revoked. Their contention is that fee can’t be enhanced midway.
The students were also targeting the administration asking it to reveal how the Management Quota seats were filled and how transparent it was. If the college was following all the rules, then the management quota details should be opened to scrutiny was their demand.