PUNE: Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has told all its affiliated colleges to send data about the exemption in fees given so far to students who have lost either one or both parents due to Covid-19.
Principals must cross-check the names against their fees records and submit a report by July 31.
University officials said that they have received complaints from students about not being considered for fees exemption despite the state higher education department's order extending such a benefit.
"Students who took admission in 2020-21 and who lost their parents to Covid-19, are eligible for full fees exemption. However, many colleges have refused any exemption.We have submitted a list of more than 200 names of such students. When they went to the college authorities with the government circular, their argument was that since there is no clarity over who will reimburse the fees of such students, they would not allow for any exemptions," Kuldeep Ambekar, founder of Students Helping Hands, an NGO that submitted the list to the SPPU, said.
The list includes the names of the student, college, course, and the death certificate of the parent so that it is easier for the principals to verify. The university circular has also told colleges to refund such students whose fees have been taken despite the exemption being applicable to them.
