Don't collect admission, tuition fee from SC, ST students, Forum of Academics for Social Justice urges DU

The Forum of Academics for Social Justice has urged Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh not to charge Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students admission and tuition fees during the admission process, stated an IANS report.

According to the Academics for Social Justice Forum, DU's Academic Council voted on June 12, 1981, to waive tuition, entrance and other fees for students from the SC and ST communities who were in the process of taking admission to various departments and colleges associated with the university and whose parents do not come under the category of paying income tax. Despite this, no college department at DU follows the guideline when it comes to admissions.

The report stated that all SC and ST students are still charged tuition, entrance and other fees at the time of admission. Special cells and grievance committees are formed in institutions only for the purpose of doing so, but no work is done in the interests of such restricted category students.

The teachers' forum has also demanded that all DU institutions provide statistics from the last five years to show how many colleges waived entrance and tuition costs for SC and ST students as reported by IANS.

Forum Chairman Hansraj Suman said that the colleges and various departments implemented this decision of the Academic Council of DU in 1981 for several years, but later this scheme was scrapped. The colleges and departments did not give any information to the university about when and why the colleges closed this scheme or why SC and ST students are not availing benefits under this scheme. Suman also added that on September 9, 2015, the Special Cell of DU sent a circular to the heads of all departments, principals of colleges, and deans of faculties about admission fees and tuition fees for SC/ST students. However, no institution has taken this letter seriously in the last seven years, and at the time of admission, fees and other expenses are collected from such reserved category students.

The Forum has demanded, in a letter to the DU VC, that the circular be issued in the academic session 2022-23 in the same manner as the letter was sent to colleges on September 9, 2015, and then on June 15, 2018, so that SC/ST students are not charged any admission or tuition fee during admissions.