Mumbai: In a climbdown, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) administration has agreed to exempt Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes students eligible for the Government Of India Post Matriculate Scholarship (GoI-PMS) from paying hostel and dining hall fees. This concession extends to eligible students who joined the institute in or before 2017 to pursue BA, MA and integrated BA-MA courses.
The decision was taken at meetings in Mumbai with student delegations from TISS campuses in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Tuljapur and Mumbai on Sunday, as the strike entered the twelfth day.
Student union leaders said the strike will continue, as they will be taking the administration’s proposal to their respective general bodies for consensus.
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Students who receive the scholarship money in their bank accounts will have to pay the same to the institute.
Fahad Ahmad, general secretary, TISS Students’ Union, said they want similar concessions for students in the OBC non-creamy layer category. “It’s impossible for students whose families don’t earn more than ₹1 lakh per annum to pay the fees demanded by TISS. The strike will continue till this demand is met.”
The administration has proposed that OBC (NC) students eligible for GoI-PMS pay dining hall charges on a monthly basis, and is working out a mechanism to stagger payment of hostel charges. Prof P.K. Shahjahan, Dean of Student Affairs, TISS, said, “We have been providing ₹12,000 every semester as student aid to OBC (NC) students, and will increase this as much as possible to bridge the economic gap. We are still in the process of gathering funds for this.”
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‘Exempt future batches’
To ensure this isn’t a one-time concession, students want that candidates in future batches availing the GoI-PMS should be exempted from paying dining hall and hostel fees. They want the concession to benefit students pursuing doctorates and MPhil degrees. Pallavi Pratibha, a member of the student delegation from the Hyderabad campus, said the administration isn’t clear on this aspect. “We said that since admissions to the 2018 batch are currently on, the institute must extend the exemption to them as well.”
The delegations also discussed demands specific to their respective campuses. Key among common demands was financial autonomy. To discuss this, Prof. Shahjahan said, a meeting of two-member committees from each student council, deputy directors of all campuses and the senior administration will be convened before April 30.
Confusion over strike
Meanwhile, five members of the TISS Students’ Union in Mumbai wrote to the administration stating the strike had been called off. The letter came as a surprise to students as well as other union members as they were not consulted during the decision-making process. Student leaders clarified the srike was on.
Late on Sunday, the TISS Union of Mumbai clarified that the ‘Chalo TISS’ march was not endorsed by them.