DIBRUGARH, July 30 � A conglomerate body of 15 organisations here have set August 15 as deadline for Dibrugarh University (DU) authorties to cut down 50 per cent of the hiked fees of various courses and of hostel seats. The organisations have asked the authorities to make higher education afforadbale for all sections of the students.
It needs mention here that the steep increase of admission fees of various courses in the university here has drawn unprecedented protests from various quarters, particularly the students� organisations and youth bodies of the district. The issue was first raised by the post graduate students� union of the university and democratic protests have continued since last month.
The organisations who jointly addressed the media at Dibrugarh Development market complex on Wednesday included All Assam Students� Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Parishad (AJYP), All Assam Mottock Yuva Chatra Sanmilan (AAMYCS), All Assam Sonowal Kachari Students� Union (AASKSU), All Assam Bengalee Yuva Chatra Federation (AABYCF), All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students� Union (AAKRSU), Tai Ahom Students� Union (TASU), Nikhil Bharat Yuva Federation (NBYF), Assam Tea Tribes� Students� Association (ATTSA), Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad (TAYP), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), All Assam Missing Students� Union, All Assam Chutia Students� Union (AACSU), All Assam Deori Students� Union (AADSU) and Post Graduate Students� Union of the University.
Rituparna Baruah, Assistant General Secretary of AASU said that Dibrugarh University was lacking the characteristics and elements of being a State managed university due to excessive fees against different courses. �It is pity that a section of the University officials are attempting to give the State managed university a private university look,� Baruah stated. The authorities are ignoring the basic purpose for which the university was founded by Dr Lakhi Prasad Dutta and others, he said.
�The university was founded to impart higher education to the poor students of Upper Assam. But the authorities have been trying to make the university a study house of only the rich,� he said. Baruah also condemned the DU authorities for dissolving the Post Graduate Students� Union of the university after they protested the hike in fees.
Subhas Dutta, RTI activist and leader of All India Youth Federation (AIYF) said that when education had become a Fundamental Right, the same was being sold for an exorbitant price in an establishment like the university itself. �DU under the stewardship of Dr K K Deka is committing a crime by depriving poor students of higher education,� he said. Dutta also questioned the integrity of the Vice Chancellor, stating that all conventional norms had been violated in appointing him the Vice Chancellor of the university. His illegal appointment is the cause of all chaos in the university, Dutta said. He said that the authorities should consider the demands of the organisations before the set deadline or face agitation.
The leaders of the organisations have also asked the authorities to make public the progress of the construction works of various structures of the university. Further, the organisations demanded 50 % cut down in the fees of doctorate (PhD) degree studies. Other demands of the organisations include appointment of adequate teachers for the professional courses and introduction of MA in Hindi and Sanskrit.
