KU demands already ‘waived off’ fee from students

SRINAGAR — In a strange move, University of Kashmir has asked students to submit a fee which was waived off back in October 2020 in view of “arduous situation arisen due to COVID-19”.

The demanding of already ‘waived off’ fee by the university has raised concern among students and has left them in a state of distress.

Few of these students said that the university has come up with a notification, asking them to submit the installments of fee which was earlier ‘waived off’.

“The LG’s intervention and direction least matters for the authorities at the university and they keep on looting the students,” the students said.

Back in 2020, the fee was waived off after a delegation from Kashmir University Students Guild submitted a representation at the office of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, seeking “waiving off extra charges and concession in admission fee” on 11-09-2020.

As such, the Governor’s office directed the university to look into the matter, to which the university brought up a circular on 07-10-2020 which reads, “In view of arduous situation arisen due to COVID-19, the Vice Chancellor has been pleased that till the matter with regard to relaxation in the admission fee is resolved, only 50 percent of the admission fee prescribed for 3rd and 4th Semester of PG Programmes be realised from its first installment.”

Meanwhile, the university Registrar, Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir said, “We have offered a 25% relaxation and the matter is still in consideration with the higher authorities.”

“We’ll look into the matter again on Monday,” he added.