Following students’ protest against the retrospective fee hike in colleges affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised to roll back the hike.
In a series of tweets, the Chief Minister said, “learnt that fees of all IP University colleges have been hiked. Students agitated. My dear students, pl don’t worry. I hv asked Edu dept to roll it back. Study well. Best wishes 4 ur exams,”
The students’ protest followed The Pioneer’s report on Saturday regarding the Government’s notification to increase the fees of IP University-affiliated colleges by up to 25 per cent retrospectively.
After the report was published, leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Saturday demanded that the hike should be rolled back as it was bound to affect lakhs of students across the city. He also threatened to launch a massive agitation if the hike was not rolled back.
A group of students staged a protest march from Civil lines to Kejriwal’s residence. Protests were also staged by students in various IPU colleges against the retrospective fee hike.
A notification, issued in the name of lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung by Director (Higher Education) Shiv Kumar, had said, “The Government has decided that the fee proposed for 2013-16 by the State Fee Regulatory Committee be notified for the period 2014-17. And for the courses having duration of four years and five years, the fee notified by the Government will be applicable for the entire duration of the course.”
The new fee structure is based on the recommendations of the State Fee Regulatory Committee, set up by the Delhi Government on February 1, 2013, to determine fee for pursuing courses in privately-managed institutions offering different courses in the national Capital and to perform the functions assigned in the Delhi Professional Colleges or Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence) Act, 2007.
The notification is based on a report by the Government-appointed eight-member panel re-constituted on February 13, 2013, headed by ex-Delhi Chief Secretary Ramesh Narayan Swamy to determine the fee for courses in privately-managed institutions under the IP University in Delhi and NCR.
The committee was asked to suggest within three months the fee structure of 106 privately-owned colleges affiliated to IP University for the period of 2013 and 2016
The revised fees structure and subsequent notices by colleges to students to clear “the due fees’ had sent shock waves among the student community who felt that the steep hike in their fees structure was a direct attempt by the city Government to help institutions earn more money to meet their business interests.