NIFT students demand withdrawal of fee hike

Fashion technology students say they are getting a raw deal

Students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology are up in arms against a fee hike.

On July 13, the institute issued a circular outlining rules for social media use. It also said students who post content maligning the college would face disciplinary action, says Anna (name changed), a final year student from the Bengaluru campus in HSR Layout

Before the end of the month came the revised fee structure. “There was a 10 per cent hike as in their policy, but we were hoping that they would do away with it in a pandemic year like this,” she says. Other national institutions like the IITs, IIMs and even the National Institute of Design, have not hiked this year, students say.

The fees cover the use of a library, lab and Wi-fi, but students have remained home. “Our college ended on March 20. In fact we haven’t even been allowed to go back and take things from our lockers and hostels,” says Anna.

Students initially demanded a 30 per cent reduction in fees. “We went down to 25 per cent and said we would be paying only for the tuition, which was still a lot considering the whole semester was going to be online,” says fourth year student Maitreyi (name changed).

The students first raised their concerns in June. On August 1, once the revised structure was out, they mailed all 16 directors.

“Classes were to start on August 3 and since we still had not been heard, we decided to boycott classes. On some campuses, threats of expulsion and withdrawal of placements were issued,” says Anna.

By August 15, the directors had told students that their issues will be taken into consideration and the boycott ended. On August 19, students found a message on the director’s personal Instagram account. It offered a 50 per cent reduction of the hike for all students other than those in the NRI quota.

“It translated to there still being a 5 per cent hike, and no respite for NRI students,” says Anna. NRI students are particularly upset. “The director of the Bengaluru campus said we were ‘non-merit students’ and were free to drop out,” says Maitreyi.

Students feel that was not just unfair but also untrue as NRI students wrote an entrance test to qualify. “And just because we are settled abroad does not mean the pandemic has not affected us,” she says. Metrolife called NIFT repeatedly for its side of the story, but it declined to comment.

Fee structure

Final year students pay up to Rs 1.35 lakh for a semester and NRI students pay Rs 9.5 lakh for a year.

“Since we’re unable to use the resources in college, we have been told to procure them ourselves. This includes mannequins that cost about Rs 75,000, and sewing machines,” says Anna.

Access to the physical library is being restricted and students say they
can’t even read books essential to their courses.

No communication

Another grouse is that no formal channels of communication are open, and announcements are circulated on WhatsApp. “Email is unheard of,” a student complains.

What circular says

Apart from promising a 5 per cent fee hike instead of a 10 per cent one, a recent circular says the college is self-reliant and the yearly hike is used for the “development of best of the art infrastructure and engagement of best available faculty”. The hikes also make scholarships possible, it adds.