Panjab University: UILS students boycott classes over annual fee hike

Students at Panjab University’s University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) on Monday boycotted their classes in protest against the annual fee hike

Students at Panjab University’s University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) on Monday boycotted their classes in protest against the annual fee hike.

Terming it an arbitrary and unjust move, the students claimed that the fee has been hiked by 8% to 10% for the ongoing batches of Panjab University’s University Institute of Legal Studies. (HT File)

Terming it an arbitrary and unjust move, the students claimed that the fee has been hiked by 8% to 10% for the ongoing batches of UILS. They said that they had previously demanded an explanation for the unprecedented and unjustified increase via a memorandum on August 10, but received no satisfactory response from the authorities.

UILS student, Ankur Goyat, said that the class boycott is a way of showing that students are not passive agents who will stay silent against such arbitrary acts and he asserted that they will not pay any extra penny. “It is cruel that authorities have hiked fees for the ongoing batches of self-financed courses that are already paying huge amounts of fees. We will stand for our demand,” said Archit Garg, another UILS student and member of NSUI.

Students said that they will continue to intensify the protest till their demand for complete rollback is accepted.

SC students’ degree issue to be discussed

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of degree of SC students of Punjab covered under Post Matric Scholarship (PMS) scheme, PU on Monday also said that a committee of varsity officials have been constituted to discuss the matter with the director, department of social welfare, Punjab and as well as DPI. The meeting will be held on September 6.

Teachers protest at PU, demand revised UGC pay scales

Teachers at Panjab University (PU) held a protest on Monday to press the Punjab government to implement the revised University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales as per the 7th pay commission at universities and colleges.

The protest call was given by Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) and Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (PFUCTO).

With Punjab yet to implement the revised pay scales, teachers haven’t received a pay hike since 2018.

PUTA President Mritunjay Kumar said that it is unfortunate that Punjab government is forcing teachers to go into protest mode once again instead of fulfilling the promise made on the floor of state assembly. The teachers stated that the revised UGC pay scales have been implemented in all states of the country except Punjab.