BITS students protest over fee hike in all 3 campuses

HYDERABAD: Thousands of Birla Institute of Technology Science (BITS) students began a massive protest at all three campuses - Hyderabad, Goa and Pilani - on Sunday against fee hike imposed by the administration.
Students of all three campuses rose in unison demanding rollback of hiked fee structure for year 2018-19. Students claimed that since 2011, the fee structure in all three campuses has doubled. "The year 2011 witnessed a hike of 56% and the fees has been increasing thereafter. The fee has more than doubled from 62,400 in 2011 to 1,30,600 in 2017. There is now a real concern of affordability of education at BITS, both for the current and incoming batches (sic)," read a release issued by the students.

Nearly 3,000 students of BITS Pilani began a peaceful protest on Sunday at the institute auditorium. But within hours, the protest was joined by students from Goa and Hyderabad campuses, resembling earlier protests at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) campuses in February this year over aid for students hailing from marginalised section.

A social media movement with hashtag 'rollbackBITSPilaniFeeHike' and 'BITSagainstfeehike' went viral on Twitter, with students venting their anger. "Power cuts during exams. Slowest internet speed I have ever encountered. Certain faculties whose knowledge is limited to one online lecture. They expect me to pay nearly 2 lakh a semester just to obtain my degree?" tweeted Tummala Anudeep, a BITS Hyderabad student.

Many students were angry over BITS Pilani director Prof Ashoke Kumar Sarkar's alleged statement on the issue. "One statement that left me flabbergasted was 'drop out if you can't afford it'. Absolutely unforgivable words from the director of @bitspilaniindia. Questions my right to education," tweeted Vidit Bhat, a BITS Pilani student.

An online petition was also started by students terming 15% fee hike as 'outrageous'. "The facilities provided by the institution have largely remained the same and haven't improved. Over time, many students begin feeling guilty and experience added pressure because of the money they morally owe to their parents. If there's such a huge hike, the authorities should be obligated to provide a valid explanation," read the petition, which received over 3,300 signatures within first three hours.

BITS authorities were unavailable for comments despite repeated attempts by TOI. "Currently I am out of campus, I will get in touch with the concerned and update you as soon as possible," replied MS Uday Kumar, in-charge of media relations in BITS Hyderabad.