New Delhi: Student protests against fee hike continued across Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for the sixth day Thursday, with demonstrators forming a human chain inside the campus and intensifying their demand for a rollback.
The protests that broke out Saturday initially over exam results have seen participation from across courses, with female students at the frontlines.
While some students have alleged a fee hike of “up to 40 percent in some courses”, AMU proctor Wasim Ali in a video statement shared online said the university had increased fees between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 for different courses, mainly to improve infrastructure, and that it was a collective decision made by different university committees.
“Some people are spreading rumours that there has been a hike of Rs 40,000 or more. It’s not true… The fee hike is minimal and important. We have been trying to clarify this to the students,” he said, adding that the students had blocked the main entrance of the university Monday, causing problems to the people passing by.
The fee hike was not announced by the university, but students said the fee portal was opened last month and they realised that fee had been hiked for various courses.
Speaking to ThePrint, Mohammad Ashik Nawaz, a PhD student, said: “For this session, the fee has increased around 30-40 percent for some courses. For example, the fee for B.Lib course last year was Rs 16,000, while for this session it has been increased to Rs 22,000-plus.”
“People from socially backward classes also come here. They are financially weak. Children from poor families come here. They are not able to pay for their meals,” he added.
Several other students said they were being pushed to the edge financially, academically and physically due to the sudden hike in fee, as well as alleged detentions, suspensions, and “harassment” by the university authorities.
Yahya Khan, MA second-year student in West Asian Studies, said the issue began when students raised concerns over their exam results declared last month.
After results were declared, many students were told they would have to retake the exams because they hadn’t paid their fees, he said. He added that around 2,700 students, including a large number of postgraduate scholars, were impacted.
According to him, the administration later stated that only students with at least 30 percent attendance would get their exam results, while others would be detained.
One of the students who tried to speak with the administration was suspended, he said. “When he went and talked, he was suspended.”
Protests over the exam results then gathered steam with the fee hike. The students are now demanding that the hike be rolled back, all action against protesting students be withdrawn, and that those detained due to attendance shortfall be reinstated.
“The fee hike issue has not been resolved. We have some basic demands, the fee hike should be rolled back, students should not be asked to reappear in exams, and suspensions should be taken back. FIRs lodged against protesting students should also be cancelled,” said Khan.
Speaking to ThePrint over phone, former associate professor Mustafa Zaidi said the current crisis was a reflection of deeper structural issues in the university.
Criticising the fee hike and citing a history of affordability in AMU, Zaidi said the university has over the years been a place where people from the deprived sections, especially Muslims, have been able to get an education.
“And that education was cheap, including the hostels and food. That made it accessible for students of all sections,” he said.
ThePrint contacted the AMU proctor via calls and messages for a comment on the allegations made by the students and a response is awaited.
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Protest at university gate
On Monday, the protests reached a flashpoint when students gathered at Bab-e-Syed, the university’s main gate, demanding immediate rollback of the hiked fee. They set up barricades to block access, prompting a confrontation with the proctorial team.
On being contacted by security officials, a proctorial team arrived and asked students to reopen the gate, following which an argument broke out that escalated into a scuffle. A female security staff member was reported to have been injured and admitted to JN Medical College.
Students said they were not allowed to pitch tents at the site later in the evening. Many also reported that wardens had started calling the parents of protesting female students.
“Our sisters who are protesting with us, they were manhandled. They were dragged by their hair,” Tariq Tyagi, one of the protesting students, told ThePrint Thursday.
“We want the proctor to resign and an inquiry into the incident,” he said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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