The students of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow are protesting so that they can be allowed to appear for semester exams. On December 14, Wednesday, as many as 22 students gathered at the BBAU premises and staged a protest.
The problem for engineering students began when the BBAU administration issued a notice on December 2, 2022, stating that those students who have fees due are not allowed to appear for the examinations scheduled to begin on December 12. "Only those who clear their all fee dues, shall be allowed to fill the examination forms after 25.12.2022 and their examinations shall be conducted afterwards, i.e. in January, 2023 separately," the notice read.
Where is the problem?
Uttar Pradesh Social Welfare Department announced that scholarships will be given to students from economically weaker sections during the academic session 2020-21 and 2021-22. But in reality, only Rs 22,300 has been sanctioned. A student Praveen Kumar pursuing his BTech in Civil Engineering claims that the total scholarship amount is around Rs 1,20,000. As per the circular released by the administration for the year 2020-21 for Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering departments, this is the fee structure:
Semester 1: 60,900
Semester 2: 57,100
Semester 3: 57,700
Semester 4: 57,100
Semester 5: 58,000
Semester 6: 57,300
Semester 7: 58,000
Semester 8: 57,300
Praveen, who is pursuing his third year, said his scholarship has not been given for the past year, therefore, he has fees due for three semesters. And in the light of the December 2 notice of not allowing students whose fees are due to appear for exams, a disappointed Praveen says, "If I don't get scholarship amount, I will have to leave the college and let go of my education."
Another third-year student Saurabh Kumar from the Civil Engineering department shared that his family was inclined towards managing one semester's fee but paying three semesters' fees at once is impossible for him. He also claimed, "When the students reached out to Samaj Kalyan Vibhag (the department of UP government which offers scholarships), they chaired multiple meetings and assured that this scholarship issue will be sorted, but nothing was executed."
Sailing in the same boat is another Ankit Gautam from the same academic background. Ankit said, "Because a scholarship was being given, I took the admission." But now asking us to pay almost Rs 1.5 lakh fee is very hard, he added. Further, he opines that they may repay the amount if given time till one or one and a half years.
Ankit also claims that he is not accommodated in the college hostel as they were fewer in number. When he reached out to the Dean of Student Welfare, the dean said nothing can be done, he informed EdexLive.
What now?
Further, Praveen informed EdexLive that they started the protest again today, December 16, and it will continue for 24 hours, he added.
Having said that, this is not the first time these students are protesting. In a video shared with EdexLive, Praveen said that they have approached the UP government but to no avail. Even though the government said that the scholarship amount will be debited, oral assurance did not translate into actions.
Extending their support to the students, the Students' Federation of India - BBAU Unit, submitted a letter to the registrar seeking rollback of the December 2 notice issued by the director of UIET. A point to note here is that the exams have already begun for others on December 12. Also, Vice-President of SFI-BBAU Unit, Abdul Wahab, told EdexLive that they are the first student federation to submit a representation to the registrar.
Similarly, students from other courses, namely, law, MBA and so on are also facing similar issues and are not allowed to appear for the exams, claims Praveen.
When EdexLive tried reaching out to the Director of UIET, there was no response.
