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PU panel suggests first fee hike since Covid outbreak
In the proposed fee hike, the first since the Covid outbreak two years ago, a PU panel suggested 7.5% hike proposed for self-financed courses and ₹1,000 increase for the traditional courses
On hold for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a fee hike for both traditional and self-financed courses at Panjab University (PU) is on the cards.
A panel has recommended fee hike for new admissions in the upcoming academic session at all teaching departments of the varsity, which is expected to enhance its annual revenue by over ₹1 crore.
The panel has suggested a 7.5% increase for self-financed courses, with a cap of ₹7,500, and a ₹1,000 hike ( ₹500 hike in fee and ₹500 development fund) for traditional courses.
Self-financed courses are run on the fee collected from students and hence have a higher fee structure.
Meanwhile, no fee hike has been proposed for courses at the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS) and PU’s regional centres.
The decisions were taken at a recent meeting of the committee, headed by the dean of university instructions (DUI) and constituted by vice-chancellor Raj Kumar.
These are expected to be tabled in the syndicate and senate for final approval, before the revised fee structure is implemented.
The varsity had last increased the fee in the 2019-20 academic session. Thereon, though a 7.5% fee hike for self-financed courses and 5% for traditional courses for new entrants in the 2020-21 academic session was proposed, the PU syndicate in May 2020 decided to defer it indefinitely in the wake of the pandemic’s outbreak.
In fact, the varsity gave a 5% concession in the semester fee.
A member of the committee said, “Since during the pandemic a 5% concession was given by the university, the hike will be based on the fee structure of the 2019-20 academic session.”
Fee hikes over the past years have never gone down well with students. In 2017, a protest over fee hike at the varsity had turned violent after students clashed with police, who in turn had used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Kuldeep Panghal, a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), said, “Students have always opposed the fee hike in the past. We are against any revision in fee that will burden students.”
Financial aid approved
A special panel of PU on Monday approved all 117 eligible cases of financial assistance for students of teaching departments and University School of Open Learning (USOL) out of the Student Aid Fund for session 2021-22.
National commission to probe scholarship issue
The National Commission of Scheduled Castes has put the varsity on notice regarding non-payment of post-matric scholarships to SC/ST students. As per the notice, V-C Raj Kumar, Punjab chief secretary and the principal secretary of Punjab department of higher education have been asked to appear in person before the commission for a hearing on the matter on March 25.
