BENGALURU: Students of many private colleges, which include engineering and degree colleges, alleged that the colleges have started asking for fees for the new academic year and warned them that if they fail to do so, they would lose their attendance. Many students state that their parents have lost jobs in these corona times and are unable to pay the fees.
Over 800 students from different colleges have formed a WhatsApp group and said that if the colleges continue to insist on fees, they would stage a protest.
Speaking to TNIE, a second year student of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) studying in a private college in Kumarswamy Layout said, “My mother lost her job due to Covid downsizing while my father is facing a huge pay cut. How can we pay the fees? The college authorities have not reduced the fees nor are they allowing us to pay in instalments. The fees is Rs 82,950 for third semester BBA.
When we ask for time, they say that colleges will reopen in September first week, and if we don’t pay by then, classes will start but we won’t get attendance. We are not saying that we do not want to pay money, we just need some time. Government needs to look into our grievances.”
A BCom student from a private college said, “I have been getting calls from the management asking to pay fees, failing which we can’t attend classes in future. The fee structure includes library fees while we are not using the library as the college is closed.”
A second year computer science student said, “Our college was supposed to conduct online classes, but they did not start. They gave us videos and asked us to take internal exams online. Without teaching us, how can they ask us to do the exam? And how can they collect fees? It is unfair.”