NSUI writes to MHRD seeking fee waiver for students stuck in cities amid lockdown

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Friday wrote to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), seeking waiver of fee of university students who are stuck in various cities amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

"Most of the students in India live outside their hometowns, those who are stuck in big cities like Delhi already have financial issues because of the shutdown. Their fee should be waived off because the classes also remained suspended most of the time this semester," the NSUI said in its letter.

"Most of the colleges are conducting online classes, but still there are courses which highly depend on practical and lab learning, so it should be made sure that their syllabus is finished before the exams start," it said.

The students' body appealed concerned authorities to make sure that the students stuck outside their hometowns because of the shutdown are provided with proper meals, sanitation facilities and also that they do not face any issues related to rent.

It said if their demands cannot be fulfilled then the academic session should be delayed by three-four months.

"If these three points are not possible then we demand the academic session to be delayed to three-four months, so that the students do not lose in their academics," the letter added. Neeraj Kundan, National President NSUI said that the MHRD should give priority to problems being faced by the students as they are in their last semester and if they failed to manage good grades then there are chances that they might fall into mental problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The NSUI will soon be launching a helpline number for the students all over the country and the students can directly call on those numbers if they face any problem, he said.