African students in the lurch over exorbitant college fees

Life has become a nightmare for several students from African countries who are in the City to pursue higher education, with some degree colleges demanding lakhs of rupees to offer them seats.

On Friday, a section of the students approached the Bangalore University officials seeking a solution to their problem.

Siddi Education Welfare Society managing director Bosco Kaweesi said the students were in a helpless state as the officials had turned a deaf ear to their plight. “We have approached the university officials five to six times by now, but to no avail,” Kaweesi told media persons.

A student from Congo, in one such instance, was promised an engineering seat in a BU-affiliated college by an ‘agent’. But the student arrived here only to find that there was no seat for him. He had come in March when the course had not yet begun. When he realised the college could not offer a course of his choice, he sought to change the college. But now, the college is demanding fee for all the three years of the undergraduate course. The college wants $ 2,900 (around Rs 182,000) as fee for a year, Kaweesi claimed.

Parents of such students back home are made to sell whatever little property they have to pay the fee. Upon this, the passports of students are confiscated because of which they are unable to report their arrival in the City to the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices without their passports, he said.

Bangalore University vice chancellor B Thimme Gowda, however, assured the students that a committee would be formed to look into the issue.