A plethora of changes has taken place in the lives of DU Students. The bumpy ride through the months of Lockdown has been harsh on a majority of students. From submitting assignments on time, payment of fees, protesting again DU Exams, protesting against OBE, emptying hostels and PGs and now learning online; DU Students have experienced it all. The pandemic situation has introduced salary cuts and created a financial burden on most households.
In the middle of all this, a new problem has risen for the students of BSc (H) Computer Science of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya College, Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce. In a recent notice issued by the ARSDC’s authorities, the students of Third and Fifth Semester have been asked to deposit their admission and examination fee online for all courses. The students have been instructed to do so over the college website till 31.08.2020.
While the course of BSc (H) Computer Science is a self-financing one across DU, students have expressed their discomfort with the fee structure. Students are being asked to pay full fees, with no significant changes being seen in the fee structure. The main issue faced is the unjust nature of it which compels the students to pay a huge sum of money for facilities that won’t be enjoyed by them for a better part of the year. According to the fee structure of ARSDC, ₹34K has been charged for infrastructure only, whereas, the fees paid for infrastructure by students of other courses is negligible in comparison to this. With the mode of teaching being online now, the utilisation of infrastructure and other necessities like electricity, water, lab equipment, etc has been significantly reduced. Yet, no relaxation in fees has been granted by any of the colleges mentioned.
Another factor that has caused stress and anxiety in students is the requirement to pay the entire lump sum of money by the end of the month. Moreover, in the previous semesters, students of the 1st and 2nd year were promoted on the basis of internal assessments. The examination fees paid for the previous semesters haven’t been settled yet.
Fees to be paid by a DDUC CS student: ₹33,000
Keshav Mahavidyalaya: ₹24,156
Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce:₹45,200
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma: ₹50,500
Many students of ARSDC (2nd year and 3rd year) have expressed their concerns by writing emails to college authorities. The college is yet to publish any other notification regarding the issue.
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