Members of various student organizations met with Vice Chancellor of Ranchi University, Ramesh Kumar Pandey on Monday to protest against the hike in fee that was announced by the university on Saturday. Students also raised the problems faced during admissions through the Chancellor Portal that was introduced last year. The meetings were followed by a lockdown of the VC office by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and its members sat in protest outside the office gate, demanding quick action on both the issues.
Ranchi University has announced an increase in its tuition fee for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Saturday. The varsity raised its monthly fee from Rs 12 to Rs 15 for undergraduate courses and Rs 18 to Rs 150 for postgraduate courses. On Sunday, ABVP supported the move but criticized the rate of increase, which is 10 times more than the previous amount. Other student organisations such as All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) and Adivasi Chatra Sangh opposed the move altogether, commenting that it was a step in the wrong direction.
On Monday, ABVP members met with the Vice Chancellor to discuss the issue. “We have two demands. One, that the fee hike should be revised. Raising the annual fees from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,500 in one go is unacceptable. We understand that this is the first increase since the formation of the university, but such a drastic rise makes it very difficult for students to adjust. We demand a gradual increase, if any, and that the fees should not exceed Rs 2,500 per year, including the insurance of students,” said Mohan Shukla, Coordinator, ABVP Central University, Jharkhand.
The second demand, he said, was to abolish the Chancellor Portal admission process. “The centralized Chancellor Portal has only delayed the admission process. Last year it took almost 45 days just for the form filling. Admissions went on till December, and there were many serious glitches in the portal,” he explained.
Representatives of Adivasi Chatra Sangh, led by President Sanjay Mahli, also met with the VC. “It is very unfortunate that the university has decided to raise the fee, which will severely affect the education of financially weak students of this university. We request the VC to roll back this decision, so that poor students can continue to pursue higher education,” Mahli said.
When asked about the issue, Vice Chancellor Ramesh Kumar Pandey defended the fee hike, and said that the students’ demands have been noted and consensus will be reached soon.
“We have heard the students’ grievances. Let other student organisations also come and meet me, we will have a discussion and reach a consensus,” he said. He assured the students that he was not at all rigid about the details of the hike, but defended the move. “We have been charging the same fees for 58 years now. If you adjust for inflation, you will realize that even the revised fee is nominal in comparison to the original fee. I believe a hike was long overdue.”
On the failure of the Chancellor Portal, the Vice Chancellor said that the decision on that matter is not his alone. “This issue concerns other universities too. I will have to discuss the problems regarding the portal with the Governor and other concerned authorities.”