As a protest over the hike in PhD course fees at Osmania University (OU), Hyderabad, continues, other underlying issues at the university surface. Fixing the Vice-Cancellor's responsible, the Osmania University Teachers' Association (OUTA) has written about his misguided actions to Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana.
The fee for PhD scholars was hiked about 2 months ago, from Rs 2,000 to 20,000 for Arts, Commerce, Education, Language and Social Sciences courses, and from Rs 2,500 and Rs 25,000 for Engineering and Technical courses per year. In total, the students are required to pay Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh respectively. According to the students and OUTA, the decision to hike the fees was taken solely by the VC without consulting any of the deans or professors.
In their letter to Soundarajan dated May 4, OUTA mentions, "There is no logic in his (the VC's) argument that for the last 15 years fee was not enhanced. This does not mean that he can enhance the fees by ten times at a time, putting the students of this academic year in a financial crisis...The students who got admission into the PhD courses earlier are also being asked to pay the same fee."
"The state university caters to the needs of the students, including those from rural and financially weak backgrounds. Moreover, the university receives funding from the government and all its needs are taken care of, which is why students should not be burdened with extra fees," said Professor B Manohar, President of OUTA.
The letter further mentions that when students approached the VC over the hike, he snubbed them stating that even LKG students were paying Rs 1 lakh for admission. "But admission in a private school and a government university are separate affairs," says Prof Manohar.
"If students are being asked to pay so much, what extra facilities are they getting?" he questions rhetorically, adding that on the contrary, OU does not provide fellowships to the research scholars. Only those scholars who qualified the UGC NET or CSIR exams get the fellowship.
The OUTA president explains that the fee hike will not only affect the students but also the university. "A university needs PhD scholars to earn a good NAAC accreditation. Only a few students take admission in PhD courses as it is, and with the fee hike, the university might lose A+ NAAC accreditation due to loss of scholars," he says.
The scholars in turn have been protesting over the hike in various forms, informs Sathya Nelli, a scholar who is leading the movement. In April, the students held a dharna in front of the VC's office, followed by the organisation of a signature campaign and distribution of pamphlets on the hike, among other activities. They have also boycotted their Research Methodology classes. However, the administration is yet to listen to them.
Nelli further alleges that he was targeted because of his involvement in the protest. He was allocated a college at the OU campus but was later transferred to the Siddipet Government Degree College. "The student was from the VC's own department and had scored the first rank in the entrance exam. According to the norms, the top rankers are allotted colleges on the campus, and his transfer goes against the rules," Prof Manohar said.
OUTA, along with the All India Other Backward Classes Students' Association (AIOBCSA) have shown solidarity with Nelli, condemning the administration's move. The students and teachers have also alleged that the VC has taken more such normatively incorrect decisions, compromising the quality of education at OU.
In another letter to the Governor, dated May 15, OUTA has accused the VC of wilfully starting or discontinuing courses at various colleges, exploiting the teachers, and also of possible misappropriation of funds. As an example, OUTA highlights that the five-year integrated Chemistry course at Nizam's College was closed, while a self-financing MSc course in Analytical Chemistry was started at Mirzapur PG College.
Discrepancies have also been alleged in the allotment of supervisors to scholars. "The order of merit in allotment was not followed. Then the Science students were asked to begin their course work without allotment of supervisors," said Prof Manohar. "Now it has come to our notice that the administration is contemplating giving the next notification for PhD admission. In that case, supervisors will not be in a position to present vacancies available with them," adds a press release from OUTA, dated May 20.
Prof Manohar further mentioned that students were allotted private research centres, which is also against the norms. "There is space on the campus, why allot them private colleges? private colleges cannot manage this. There should quality in the facilities provided," he says.
In order to address these issues, OU recently constituted a committee. In a meeting, Nelli's transfer and other matters were discussed, and were addressed to an extent, the OUTA president says. "However, the fee hike issue was not mentioned in the meeting at all and remains to be looked into. We have submitted multiple representations, but the VC is not listening to us," he added.
