The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) staged a two-hour dharna on Monday at the main gate of Central Institute of Technology (CIT) Kokrajhar in protest against hike in admission fees.
After the dharna, the ABSU submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the Board of Governors of CIT Kokrajhar and sent copies of the memorandum also to the president of the CIT Society, director and the registrar.
Talking to reporters, Jayanta Basumatary, spokesman and Kwrwmdao Wary, assistant general secretary of the ABSU respectively said that the students’ union staged the dharna demanding the authorities concerned to immediately stop giving admission with the new fee structure, to immediately withdraw the hiked admission fees for the session 2019-2020 and continue the previous year’s admission fees.
The students’ body also demanded that the break-up of fee structure for respective categories and semesters be revealed.
The ABSU leaders said they have sought economic justice for the students from poor financial background to pursue higher technical education at the CIT.
They said there are many aspiring students who are waiting for admission but have not been unable to do so due to the unprecedented hike in the admission fees for the first semester of the session 2019-2020 in different courses.
“Such blatant increase in admission fees is systematic economic subjugation to the local economically weak students and it paves way for the rest who are from well-to-do families. Every opportunity has to be provided to the tribals, especially for the people of the BTAD region. This is very much possible,” the BASU leaders said.
They also reminded the authorities concerned the reason of establishment of the CIT in the BTAD region as promised in the BTC Accord.