Mumbai B-school threatens students unable to pay fees due to COVID-19

NEW DELHI: Sumit Kumar’s father lost his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2020, his entire family had tested positive for the virus. “My father had to be admitted for many days in the hospital and even with this, I have already managed to pay Rs 5 lakhs for my first-year fees,” said Kumar, a second year MBA student at a private B-school in Mumbai. And now, “the college administration is threatening to cancel our admission if we do not pay the full amount of the second-semester fee”, he alleged.

The institute, located in a Mumbai suburb is allegedly pushing students to pay the second-year fee of the MBA programme and threatening them with suspension or expulsion if they don’t. Students told Careers360 that they were denied relief in the pandemic as well.

The technical education regulator, All India Council for Technical Education ( AICTE ) has been repeatedly requesting institutions to not force students to pay the full fee during the ongoing pandemic.

One message, allegedly from the institution and shared by a student, says: “It is highly disappointing that you have still not cleared your overdue fees, despite our constant reminders through the mail, SMS, voice calls, WhatsApp. Consider this as our final warning. You are requested to make your full overdue payment by the end of this month and pay your due fees within your respective due date. In case you ignore the same, actions will be taken against your continuation.”

MBA students, COVID-19 year, student loans

There are many students who took admission in MBA programmes last year hoping to secure a loan from the bank or other family sources to fund their education. However, the economic distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many families finding it difficult to pay fees.

Ankita Dhar, another student of the institute said: “Last year when I took admission here, I didn't know this virus would turn into a global pandemic or else, I would have taken a gap year rather than just feeding them Rs 10 lakh and getting nothing in return. In the offer letter which we received, we were supposed to pay our fees in March and I had already paid Rs 25,000 at the time of our interview. After that, the virus struck and the whole world went under lockdown, these people still kept bugging us for fees. I had applied for education loans already but they were pending due to the lockdown and later dismissed as all big banks were sceptical about whether we will be able to repay.” Dhar said she was initially barred from writing the first-semester exams over the issue and was allowed only after her father took a loan by mortgaging their house and paying the institute Rs. 4.74 lakh.

This year, her entire family caught the coronavirus in the second wave of COVID-19 and all their savings went into treatment, she said. “The pressure from the college never stopped. They keep threatening us with suspension and cancelling my admission with the constant calls and emails which is nothing but mental torture,” Dhar alleged.

Students claim that the institute also denied their request to be allowed to pay fees in installments.

Student suspended

One student who had to pay Rs 5.57 lakh was handed a suspension letter on May 31 which is being seen as a warning to the rest.

The letter accessed by Careers360 says: “Pursuant to the review of your case by the Academic Council of the Institute, we have decided that your admission to the PGDM 2020-2022 course stands suspended with effect from 31st May 2021. Should you fail to pay the overdue fees within the time specified herein, or fail to provide a valid reason for the delay in payment, your admission to the course may be cancelled permanently….Accordingly, your internship placement shall also be withdrawn and the internship company shall be informed of the cancellation of your admission.”

The institute charges around Rs 11 lakh from the 2020 batch, and according to students, this fee was over Rs 9 Lakh a year before.

Complaints from such colleges have prompted AICTE to issue multiple missives on fees as well as staff salary. According to the letters, institutions have also fired teachers and other staff or reduced their pay during the lockdown period.

Families struck by COVID-19

Another student unable to pay the second-year fees, Ranjini Bose alleged she was told she could “take a year gap” if she couldn’t pay. Vidhi Karmakar, who lost her father to COVID-19 in 2020 and is struggling financially was also allegedly told she should take a gap year. “All I am requesting for is time and nothing else,” she said.

A third student who lost a parent and has another in hospital said:“I asked for the fee waiver and even described the financial crisis I am passing through with hospital fees so high. I have sent emails to the director, dean and registrar members but no one replied.”

The students are miffed also because classes have been entirely online for most of the year.

“Studying MBA online and paying Rs 10-15 lakh fees is not acceptable. We have not used college properties or its other resources,” argued Gaurav Mathur, another student. “We have requested the college to reduce the fees by 10-20% but they compared our paying fees with paying huge electricity and credit card bills. As per the AICTE guidelines for the institutes approved by it, colleges shouldn't pressurize the students for fees and let students pay the fee in installments. But even that is not being done.”

NOTE: The names of all the students have been changed to keep their identity secret as requested by them.