"We have appealed to the government to immediately intervene and initiate the rollback of course fees. If they fail to take necessary action within a week, we will launch a strike/protest," said Political Science PhD student at Osmania University (OU), Satya Nelli. According to scholars, this is not the first time they have raised the concern of fee hikes.
Speaking to EdexLive, Satya Nelli who is also the Secretary of the All India Students' Federation (AISF), said, "Even though the research students have been fighting for five months against the decision to roll back the fees, the government and the university authorities have been stubborn," said
Fee roll back
The scholars allege that it was when the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party was in power that the OU authorities irrationally hiked the fee without any committee proposals. According to scholars, the PhD fee for Arts, Social Sciences, Commerce, Management, Law and Education departments has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1,00,000 while the fee for Science, Engineering and Technology departments has been increased from Rs 2,500 rupees to Rs 1,25,000 rupees.
This hike has left scholars in a lurch as it has become a hurdle to join PhD courses, this is despite clearing the entrance exam and interview. The scholars allege that the hike is not allowing the students belonging to marginalised sections of society to pursue higher education.
Satya recalls that during one of the Lok Sabha sessions in 2023, the current Deputy Chief Minister and the then Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, spoke in favour of the fee roll back, condemning the BRS government. With this, the students' hopes soared high.
Further, the AISF secretary informed that they have appealed to the government and are awaiting the government's response. On February 3, the student union met Jupally Krishna Rao, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Telangana, at his residence and submitted concerned news articles, letters, and documents. "The minister assured that he would bring this matter to the notice of the Deputy CM and that it would be resolved," Satya told EdexLive.
Another concern was that as per the University Grants Commission's (UGC) norms, universities with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) A grade can hold PhD admissions independently every academic year. However, OU has not taken up that process from 2018 to 2022.
