‘We will stand by students’: IIT Bombay appeals to students to call off protest against fee hike

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay administration has appealed to students protesting against the fee hike to call off the protests. To address the concern of students, the institute has taken some steps such as including students in the fee committee and provide relaxation in fees for financially backward students.

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According to a statement from IIT Bombay’s statement, the admin sent a mail to all the students informing them that following the open house, institute has taken the following steps to address student concerns.

• Four student members have been added as invitees to the fee committee.
• It was decided to reduce the Hostel Amenities Fund amount from the Semester Mess Advance paid to the hostels.
• Students who have economic difficulties (including those whose stipends are delayed by the sponsoring agencies) will be provided with a way to request and get deferral of fees.
• IIT will work on scholarships for Masters (MTech etc) students with financial difficulties, along the lines of scholarships for UG students.
• HCU has allowed students to pay the semester mess advance in two installments to avoid a large burden at the start of the semester.
• HCU will also work towards a monthly mess advance, after developing systems to ensure that students pay the mess fees on time in each period.

“We will stand by any students who are in financial need and ensure they can complete their studies without any issues,” said the IIT Bombay statement.

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“On a different but related note, it was brought out that while the contract with mess caterers includes an annual increase (typically 5%) to account for inflation, this has not been done due to pressure from students. Contracts have legal standing and must be adhered to. Furthermore, given the significant increase in prices of all items, forcing caterers to provide food at rates agreed several years back without any increase results in severe problems for the caterer, reduction in food quality, delayed/non payment of vendors and mess staff (most of whom are very poor) in addition to discord between students and mess contractors/workers. Hostels are being instructed to follow the contract terms strictly,” IIT Bombay further said.

Meanwhile, IIT Bombay students went on hunger strike alleging that their demands for rollback of fee hike decision were not met.