Resentment is brewing among the students of SSM College of Engineering against the college administration for charging transport fee from the students for the lockdown period.
The students complained that the college remained closed from August 2019 to March 2021 and no transport facility was availed by the students during the lockdown period. “But unfortunately, the college administration is asking the students to pay the transport fee for these months when we have not used it at all,” an aggrieved student told Greater Kashmir.
This newspaper also received emails and phone calls from the students who complained that the college was bizarrely charging transport fee for the period when the college was closed for physical classes and exams.
“Our college was closed from August 2019 to March 2021. College Buses were not plying on roads as well. But now college authorities are forcing us to pay Rs 12000 as transport maintenance charges which we cannot afford to pay amid the prevailing circumstances,” the student said, adding that most of the students belong to middle class families and they cannot arrange such a huge amount to pay transport maintenance charges when the economical conditions of their families are already down.
The students said thousands of candidates were enrolled in the college and the authorities were allegedly trying to recover their losses from the pockets of the parents.
“It is not only this college which faced financial crunch due to lockdown. The COVID19 lockdown cost dearly for everyone here,” the student said, adding that the college administration was already charging money from students by various means including graduation day charges and other fee as well.
Vice Chairperson SSM College of engineering, Dilafrose Qazi when contacted said the matter will be looked into.
“I will find out and let you know,” she said without divulging further details about the matter.