The students of Cochin University of Science and Technology are sore at the Vice-Chancellor’s action in not inviting them for talks on the steep increase in course and exam fees.
The stir which gathered momentum on Tuesday, affected classes at the varsity and almost all student organizations are united against the fee hike. The Students Federation of India has called for a boycott of classes.
However, authorities at the varsity have taken the stand that the fee hike would come into force only for the 2012 admissions.
However, student leaders say that the massive hike is unjustifiable. Congress student syndicate member Tony Raphy had already come out in the open against the hike and the KSU has now joined the strike.
SFI district committee member Narendran said that they were ready for discussions but the Vice-Chancellor was not inviting them for talks. “The hike for certain courses is five-fold.
The MBA fee has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000, while for MCA, it’s gone up from Rs 9,000 to Rs 15,000. These are not self-financing streams and this fleecing is unacceptable,” he said.