BITS students' protest at Birla Worli HQ thwarted, but demands conveyed

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Students of Birla Institute of Technology and Science tried to protest against a fee hike last morning outside the Aditya Birla Group Headquarters in Worli, but the police stopped them, for lack of permission. The institute's student body has been protesting against the hike for the past couple of months.

However, a letter of their demands was sent inside the office. A student, Siddharth Namburi, said, "They have been hiking fees every year by 12 to 13 per cent - from Rs 16,000 per semester in 2002 to R45,000 in 2010, and now, Rs 1.6 lakh this year, which does not include hostel, food and other facilities.

"We want a fixed fee for a batch, ie fee charged in the first year be maintained for that batch every year till the course ends. Bank loans are given as per first year fee structure." Despite attempts, prof G Sundar, Hyderabad campus director, was unavailable.

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