After talks with the university administration on Tuesday fell through, students at Allahabad University threatened to escalate their demand for the cancellation of a fee increase. Akhilesh Yadav, vice president of the students’ union, referred to the about two-and-a-half-hour meeting between the university administration and the union as a “total failure” after it was finished. Twenty students attended the gathering. Sangeeta Srivastava, vice chancellor, wasn’t there, either, according to Yadav.
The students presented the administration with two demands: retracting the 300 percent fee increase and re-establishing the students’ union. According to Yadav, neither of the two demands had received any promise from the university administration. He continued, “We will broaden the movement’s scope and introduce it to additional campuses.
According to the university’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Jaya Kapoor, the university has clarified its position on both of the issues raised by the students, defending both the fee increase and the issue involving the students’ union, which is being examined by the high court. As a result, no decision can be made on either of these issues, according to Jaya Kapoor. The PRO stated that the vice-chancellor has made it clear that no deserving impoverished student will be denied access to a university education due to the tuition increase and that a committee will be established to make decisions about all such students.
The senior superintendent of police (SSP), the inspector general of police (IG), the district magistrate, and the divisional commissioner, according to Yadav, were not present during the discussions on behalf of the district government. For the district administration, he said, only the city magistrate, the city superintendent of police, and the circle officer attended the meeting.
Registrar Anamika Rai, the deputy registrar, and the head proctor were in attendance on behalf of the institution. To break the impasse, the district administration called a meeting with the irate students at the collectorate on Sunday. Talks between the students and the university administration will take place on Tuesday, it was decided at the meeting. For almost a month, the students have been protesting the fee increase. The university charged Rs. 975 annually in tuition for undergraduate programmes. The price recently increased by more than 300% to Rs 4,151.
