The students of Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology (MIET) are demanding fee relaxation for the current semester in light of coronavirus pandemic. MIET issued a circular on July 28 asking the students to pay the fees latest by August 14. According to the students, since all the classes will be taking place online and they won't be using most of the campus facilities they should be allowed to pay only the tuition fee.
"When the fee circular was mailed to us, one of the students wrote a mail to the administration and over 68 students replied to that mail. Those who replied to their mail ids have been deactivated. This is the id through which we are allowed to attend classes and all the important emails are shared on this mail. This is a crucial time for the final year students when all the placement related mails are shared on this particular id," a student said.
Now, the college has responded to the entire issue. "It takes immense pride for us to put on record that while most of the Institutions in UP have applied for closure of courses as per AICTE website, MIET not only did provide seamless classes but despite restricted cash flow, invested huge amount in top-notch technology for pre-assessment, training & classroom experience. MIET is perhaps the only Institution that has carried on its relationship with all its stakeholders," MIET, Brand Head Vishwas Gautam said.
"The salaries of all the staff members across the Group were paid on time and all the vendor's payment was cleared on time. The classes were running from the first day of the lockdown. For the current odd semester, the classes have already been run for over a month. As we are a self-financed college, the flow of cash is imperative to provide an impetus to our commitment to excellence, hence we had invited parents and students to participate in the same," the management added.
The students of the engineering college told indiatvnews.com that they college mail ids have been deactivated for raising the fee relaxation demand. "When the students asked why their mail ids are deactivated? No reason was given. They stressed that the students should pay the fees and write an apology letter," the student added.
Several students told indiatvnews.com that due to the financial instability caused by the pandemic they are unable to pay the full fees.
"Why our college is taking this much fees from the students in the current situation? How can our parents who lost their jobs in the lockdown or doing their jobs on pay cuts pay this much fees on such short notice? The college is also saying that fine will be imposed per day for a late submission. I tried many times to contact the college over this matter but no response from their side yet," a 4-year B.tech student said.
The students are however requesting college to consider reducing the fees considering the pandemic. "We are taking our classes online. We will not be using labs too. The college should reduce some amount of fees or give us more time. We are ready to pay in instalments too," the students added.
(The copy has been updated with the response from MIET)
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