Due to the ongoing pandemic universities all over the world have adapted to online teaching platforms which have incapacitated students to access various facilities provided by the university. Students aren’t able to access basic facilities such as libraries, classrooms, sports equipment, and so on. One among many such universities is Jain (Deemed-to-be) University situated in Bangalore, Jayanagar 9th block.

Jain SCS has been forcing students to pay the full fee amount without any consideration to the ongoing pandemic and the effect it has on various individuals losing out on their jobs or loved ones. The university has been forcing second-year students to pay their 3rd-year fees in advance, before the completion of the 4th semester-end exams. This increases the financial burden on parents and students to pay the full amount of fees on time with lesser disposable income on their hands.

Students are under constant pressure to pay the fees, failing which they are subjected to attendance cuts and ineligibility to write the semester-end exams, pushing them to a helpless state. The students are being driven into a mental breakdown due to this massive pressure built by the university.

We humbly request the university to meet the following demands:
1) Defer the date of payment of the fee to a much later convenient date.
2) Reduction of the total fee amount by 25-30%
3) Make sure students eligible for a scholarship receive the same
4) Provide an option to pay the remaining fees on an instalment basis
5) Increase transparency on scholarship eligibility and criteria
6) Take into consideration the mental health of students and parents, and make sure to not bombard them with fee payment reminders.

This would prove as a practical and implementable solution to ease the critical financial burden.