Mumbai University students refuse to pay hiked exam fee in protest

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With just three days left to pay the exam fee at Mumbai University (MU), students have again stood against the exorbitant hike in charges. This time around, students of the political science department have decided not to pay the exam fee. On Tuesday, around noon, they also gathered at MU's Kalina campus gate to protest and encourage other students to withhold payment.

Vivek D'souza, a second-year student pursuing a Masters in Political Science, said, "The examination fee amount has been hiked to double the original amount. Forget the fact that the varsity's exam process has been nothing but trouble for students,
any fee hike has to be gradual. Such a steep hike will be difficult to cope with."

A few months ago, social work students from Nirmala Niketan college had begun the movement against the hike. The protests spread to different colleges across Mumbai, but the university did not take any decision in favour of the students. Now, when students have taken a stand yet again, they hope for a positive response from MU.

"We do not want to limit the protest to just our department. Protesting at the campus gate will allow us to create awareness among other students, who we hope will join us," D'souza added.

Students have also written a letter to the vice-chancellor, Dr Devanand Shinde, requesting that varsity review the exam fee structure. Despite repeated attempts to contact VC Shinde, he remained unavailable for comment.

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