SPPU asks affiliated colleges to waive 100% fee for students who lost parents due to COVID-19

The varsity has decided to provide a 100 per cent fee waiver for all those students who have lost one or both parents due to COVID-19.

Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has directed more than 700 affiliated colleges to reduce fees for the current academic year. The move comes after students demanded a reduction in fees owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the directives given by the higher education department. 

The varsity has decided to provide a 100 per cent fee waiver for all those students who have lost one or both parents due to COVID-19. As colleges charge fees under several heads, a detailed break-up has been provided for which fees are to be reduced by what percentage through the notification.

While tuition fees have been left untouched, other fees which have been waived 100 per cent are college magazine fees, industrial visit fees, deposits like caution money, library or other deposits, fees under heads like health check-ups, disaster management, Ashwamedh (competition) fees. Besides these, the university has allowed a 50 per cent reduction in fees for facilities like library, laboratory, gymkhana, computer, extra-curricular activity. There will also be a 75 per cent reduction in student welfare fees and a 25 per cent reduction in examination fees and development funds.

The SPPU administration had put the proposal for reducing the fees before its management council during a meeting that was conducted on June 26. The committee was set up under the chairmanship of principal Sudhakar Jadhavar. The committee recently submitted its report which has been accepted by vice-chancellor Dr Nitin Karmalkar.

The SPPU has directed the affiliated colleges that the reduction in the fees is only for the current academic year and even for paying the reduced fees, the colleges or institutions should give instalment options to poor and needy students on receiving their written applications. The colleges that have already published the online magazine can charge 25 per cent and those who have printed magazines 50 per cent of magazine fees while those who have not printed should not charge anything. Similarly, colleges that conducted extra-curricular activities online can charge 50 per cent fees for them.

Colleges have also been instructed to charge the hostel/accommodation fees only when it reopens. The notification also stated that if optimistically, colleges reopen for physical classes, then the proportionate fee component under different heads as mentioned including hostel fees may be charged separately.

Read More:

• SPPU Courses
• SPPU Placement