The PU’s senate has approved an overall fee hike which will be 10 percent for the new admissions and 5 percent for the old admissions. The hike includes tuition and maintenance fee for all the courses. The same criteria has been approved for all the constituent colleges of the PU.
However; there is no hike in the exam fee in fact, senate managed to bring down the exam fee from INR 200 to INR 75 per semester.
These decisions were based on the recommendations of the working committee whose task was to revise the fee structure for the new session. The fee hike however; invited criticism from the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) and other student organizations.
On the request of Senators Pam Rajput and Ameer Sultana, Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said “the fee for new courses will not be
increased in the first three years and the income from tuition fee will be used for the upkeep of laboratories and other infrastructure. He added that teachers’ salaries will be paid with the funds that come from the Center.”
Senators JK Goswamy said, “Students don’t mind the fee hike, but their only problem is that they don’t get proper infrastructure. In the last five to six years, academics has got the least priority in this university.”
Vani Sood, Secretary, PUCSC, said, “We are only special invitees at the Senate meeting, but are not allowed to speak. The fee hike was proposed before the grant from the Punjab government. Now that the situation has changed, why this fee hike? How can the authorities be so ruthless? Moreover, it has been strategically planned, now that exams are approaching and the students cannot protest.”