A massive increase in fee for those taking admissions into the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), a constituent college of Bangalore University (BU), has resulted in a face-off between students and the BU authorities.
Undergraduate students, along with student organisation members, staged a protest on the Jnanabharathi campus on Tuesday against the fee hike.
Members of the All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) said the quantum of hike for those whose annual income is less than Rs. 44,000 a year was over 1,800 per cent, as the students were earlier expected to pay Rs. 1,255.
“This year, they are being asked to pay the full amount of Rs. 24,430 irrespective of what their annual income or category is,” said Ravinandan B.B. from AIDSO.
He said the BU’s fee collection process goes against a recent government order on fee concession for students belonging to Other Backward Classes. “Earlier, there was an order where students had to pay the full amount to the college, after which the government would reimburse the concession amount to the students’ bank accounts. This was modified on August 6, after which the concession amount will be remitted to the accounts of the colleges. It says the fee concession should be made available to students at the time of fee payment itself,” he explained.
