The students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences(Hyderabad) have been consistently protesting against the introduction of a sudden hike in the hostel and mess fees.
Protests against the abrupt fee hike had begun on July 6.
The students’ body asserted that earlier they were required to pay Rs 15,000 in three instalments(excluding the mess charges). Moreover, the students who were eligible for the India post-metric scholarship were allowed to pay once they received their amount.
The administration continued to stick to its rules and refused to listen to all the demands made by the students. As a result of which five students undertook a five-day hunger strike until July 11.
While protesting, the students did not allow anybody to enter the academic complex of the institute. It was on July 15 that the registrar announced sine de closure of all the academic activities .
All academic activities remained suspended on campus in the meantime. They resumed on July 25 after a meeting took place between the students’ body, the registrar and the dean. In spite of everything, the issue of hostel fee hike remains unaddressed till date at TISS Hyderabad.
In response to the protest, the TISS Hyderabad administration has issued show-cause notices to thirty of its students who protested its decision to hike the hostel fee on July 5.
The show-cause notice that has been issued to these students states that they had been found to be blocking the entrance of the academic block from July 9-15,2019.
The allegation made by the institute’s administration is that the students had been trying to create obstacles for the functioning of the institute and were causing troubles for the faculty and the administrative staff.
They allege that the protest led to destruction of official duty, loss of critical working days, loss of teaching hours and impeding the functioning of the institute.
On August 26, the Telangana High Court had expressed its disillusionment with the TISS Hyderabad administration’s decision of issuing show-cause notices to its students. The High Court had even gone ahead and asked the administration to refrain from taking such a measure.
The deadlock between the students and the administration continues to takeover the TISS Hyderabad campus.
Given the present scenario it may take a long while before the normal and day to day functioning of the institute resumes and full fledged academic activities can once again begin.
