IIT Bombay fee hike: Students representatives to be part of fee committee

IIT Bombay students have announced to go on an indefinite hunger strike from August 6, unless their demands for the proposed fee hike are not rolled back.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay administration has accepted the demand of students, to be included in the fee committee. Post-graduate students of IIT Bombay are demanding the fee hike rollback as the institute increased fees by nearly 35%. The students have officially submitted a letter to the director of IIT Bombay declaring that if the fee hike is not rolled back by August 5, they would be forced to go for a hunger strike till their demands are met.

On August 28, IIT Bombay students announced to go on an indefinite hunger strike from August 6, unless their demands for the proposed fee hike are not rolled back. Accepting one of the demands of students, the demand for the inclusion of student representatives in the fee committee has been accepted by the IIT Bombay Director.

However, the students association have announced that they will continue with their fight to get the fee hike withdrawn.

In the all-team meeting of the IIT Bombay Students Against Fee Hike, held on 28th July, it was decided that the students will start a Hunger Strike if their demands are not fulfilled by the administration by August 5, 2022.

On the other hand, the institute has claimed that the fee hike was approved by the Board of Governors nearly three years back, but its implementation was halted due to the COVID pandemic. The Board recommended a fee hike of nearly 35% for all the postgraduate programs.

Immediate revocation of recent fee hike

The students are demanding immediate revocation of the recent fee hike decision taken by the Standing Committee for Student Fee Matters. A complete rollback of the fee hike.
“Revocation of the said Board of Governors resolution that recommends a 5% annual hike in the fees, based on which the fee hike decision was allegedly made. Inclusion of Student Representatives in the Standing Committee for Student Fee Matters” reads a statement by protesting students.

The students have alleged that the recent fee hike decision by the IIT Bombay administration imposes a compounded burden of years of a fee hike on the students. Considering that many of the students are yet to come out of the effects of the covid pandemic (as even the global economy is), and they are having to cope with the steepening inflation, the decision of compounded fee hike was extremely inconsiderate towards the students.

The students claim that the public education system in India has been a very important medium through which the country has been able to work towards the promise of ensuring Equality of Opportunity, and Social and Economic Justice to all the people of this country, the promise which has been made in the preamble of the Constitution.

“By making education more and more expensive in important public institutions like IlTs, we are effectively closing the doors of these institutions on many. We are going further away from the fulfilment of that promise. Our resistance is to keep those doors open for today's generation as well as tomorrow's. We are resolved to struggle to keep ourselves on the path of Equality and Justice. We appeal to all those who believe in these values to stand with us,” the students stated.

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