Frustrated, TISS students complain to HRD ministry

The protesting students write letter Minister Prakash Javadekar raising the issue of withdrawal of funds and financial aid to students of socially backward classes; demand immediate action

Students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have written a letter to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) raising the issue of withdrawal of funds and financial assistance to students of socially backward classes. Students have been protesting since a week over lack of funding and have boycotted lectures, practicals and field work.

Over 1,500 students of four campuses of TISS at Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwahati have staged a protest over withdrawal of Government of India-Point of Matric (GOI-PMS) Scholarship for students of Scheduled Class (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Dissatisfied with the response of the administration, students have now written a detailed letter to Prakash Javadekar, Minister of MHRD, for immediate action in this matter.

The letter states TISS has withdrawn financial assistance for students of all categories by asking them to pay Rs 50,000 per semester for hostel and food. Students belonging to SC, ST and OBC have not been awarded waiver of tuition and hostel fees and have also been denied the GOI-PMS Scholarship. In addition, TISS introduced a fee hike of 75 per cent in 2016 for Master for Philosophy (MPhil) and Master of Arts (MA) students across categories. This fee hike is more in proportion compared to other publicly funded institutions.

Highlighting lack of funding, students stated scholarship and fellowship programmes for education sector are being withdrawn. The letter stated recently the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked central universities to raise 30 per cent funds themselves through increasing user costs which will essentially mean a drastic rise in fees and students will have to bear this financial burden.

Students are adamant about continuing their protest till a firm action is taken and justified solution is provided. Megha Ghosh, a student said, “We will continue our protest and boycott classes till our demands are met. Funding is a serious issue and the government cannot fool us by saying it does not have funds for education. It is a voluntary protest and over 200 students of Mumbai campus are part of it even on the sixth day.”