Around 750 students of National Institute of Fashion Technology (Nift) at Kharghar went on strike on Monday to protest against the institute’s decision to hike the fees. Terming the hike as unjustified, the students said that they would not attend lectures until the management rolled back the hike.
The striking students said that the management had arbitrarily increased their per semester fees from `40,000 to `75,000 and that they would not be able to arrange for the fees at such a short notice in the undergoing year.
“We understand that there is a fee hike every year, but how can they hike fees for existing students? Where will we get loans now?” said a second year fashion-designing student.
The students claimed that the management informed them of the hike through an email wherein it was specified that all students — new and old — would be bound to pay the hiked fees. Complaining that the hike of nearly 50 per cent was harsh, the students said that their agitation was not the only one, as students from other centres at Hyderabad, Gandhi Nagar, Shillong were also protesting.
As per the hike, new students will be the most hit, as they will have to shell out `35,000 per semester, which is the highest among the Nift centres. Additionally, the institute has also informed the students that they will have to shell out 10 per cent more every year on the existing fees.
The amount for examination fees, library fees and insurance premium has also been hiked.
Nilima Rani Singh, director of Nift, Mumbai said, “There is some misconception amongst students. The fees have been increased by a mere 10 per cent. What they are saying is partially correct, they used to pay `40,000 as the semester fees, but the total fees used to come up to `66,000, and after the fee hike now, it will come up to `75,000. We are trying to negotiate with the striking students and will soon resolve the issue.”