Bowing to persistent agitations by 13 student unions, TU´s executive council on Friday decided to hike the fees only five-fold. Students at diploma level will now have to pay Rs 250 as tuition and admission fees each. Earlier, TU had increased tuition and admission fees at diploma level from Rs 15 to Rs 500 each.
Likewise, students at masters level will have to pay Rs 350 and Rs 250 as tuition and admission fees respectively. Earlier, TU had increased tuition and admission at this level from Rs 61 to Rs 700 and from Rs 50 to Rs 500 respectively. The reconsidered fee structure will come into effect from academic year 2066/67.
“We annulled our decision as per the students´ demand,” Bhimraj Adhikari, registrar at TU, told myrepublica.com Adhikari was hopeful that the student unions would accept TU´s new fee structure.
The student unions, however, professed ignorance about TU´s new decision. “We have not been informed about TU´s new decision so far,” Ramkumari Jhankri, President of All Nepal National Free Students Unions (ANNFSU), told myrepublica.com on Friday evening. “We came to know about it through media persons.”
Jhankri welcomed TU´s decision to roll back its earlier decision. “We are happy that TU has backed off,” she said. “We, however, cannot say at this moment whether we will accept TU´s new fee structure.” She said the 13 student unions would reach a conclusion only after consultations.
On November 15, TU had decided to hike all educational fees including tuition and admission at diploma and masters level after a gap of 18 years. TU had to reconsider its decision after the student unions´ ongoing protests turned nasty Thursday. The unions kept all TU authorities confined to their offices till midnight.
TU has not set a new fee structure at certificate level as it is all set to phase out the certificate level from next academic year.
Related story
Nepal’s public debt increased to almost fivefold in a decade
