The Forum of Academics for Social Justice has urged the Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh to not charge admission and tuition fee from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students during the time of admission process.

According to the forum, DU’s Academic Council had on June 12, 1981, decided to waive the tuition fee, admission fee and other fee for those students belonging to SC and ST community taking admission in various departments and colleges affiliated to the university, whose parents do not come under the category of paying income tax. Despite this, the rule is not followed by any college department in DU at the time of admissions.

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All SC and ST students are still charged tuition fees, admission fees etc at the time of admissions. Special cells as well as grievance committee are formed in colleges only for the sake of it, however no work is being done in the interest of such reserved category students.

The teachers’ forum has also demanded that the data of the last five years should be provided by all DU colleges to see that how many colleges have waived the admission fees and tuition fees of SC and ST students.

Forum Chairman Hansraj Suman has told that this decision of the Academic Council of DU in 1981 was implemented by the colleges and various departments for several years, but later this scheme was scrapped. The colleges and departments did not give any information to the university about when and why the colleges closed this scheme or why SC and ST students are not availing benefits under this scheme.

Suman said that the Special Cell of DU had sent a circular regarding admission fee, tuition fee to SC/ST students on September 9, 2015 to the heads of all departments, principals of colleges and deans of faculties. But for the last seven years, no college takes this letter seriously and in every academic session, fees and other charges are taken from such reserved category students at the time of admission.

By writing a letter to the DU Vice-Chancellor, the Forum has demanded that the circular should be issued in the academic session 2022–23 in the same way as the letter was sent to the colleges on September 9, 2015 and after that on June 15, 2018 so that SC/ST students will not be charged any admission or tuition fee during admissions.