To protest the fee hike, hostel accommodation and other issues faced by Savitribai Phule Pune University’s students, the ‘Vidyarthi Sangharsh Kruti Samiti’ staged a day-long protest on the varsity campus on Wednesday.
Many students, facing a financial crunch, have previously raised this issue and demanded that the fees be reduced.
“Students from various student organisations and unions have been protesting the SPPU administration for raising the fees for its various courses. Hundreds of students from low-income families and rural areas are unable to pay the increased fees. Our main demand is that the fees be reduced immediately “said Rahul Sasane, a Kruti Samiti member.
Somnath Lohar, another protesting student, stated, “Another major issue that students from outside Pune face is a lack of university hostel accommodation, which forces them to pay exorbitant rents for separate rooms or flats. Our demand is for the varsity to provide them with hostel facilities immediately.”
In response to the issue, SPPU registrar Prafulla Pawar stated, “There has been no hike in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increased fee hike is in accordance with the university’s rules and regulations. In addition, for the students who have applied for hostels, we will be allocating hostel facilities to each of them, and steps have been taken to do so.”