Hyderabad: Student body says it is ready for a legal battle with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences if required. A student said that “all our demands are genuine and these are our basic rights, which a social science institute must recognise. All we are asking is to revoke the upfront payment of the hostel fee. The institute is not even ready to talk with the private service provider (who manages the hostel), and instead they are trying to convince us”.
Students allege that there is no contract between the institute and the private service provider who manages the hostels and the deal was finalised via a phone call.
Students say that they are prepared for a legal battle if necessary.
“We don’t know why the management has taken such an extreme step as to close down the academic campus when we have been protesting peacefully all these days. We have never resorted to any kind of violence,” said another student and added that “being a social science institute, they are not letting us do a peaceful protest for safeguarding our rights.”
The students want a return to the old system of paying hostel bills in monthly instalments. They also don’t want the increase in the hostel fees. Following the shut down, students are debating the future course of action and a series of meetings were held among student bodies to decide how to proceed.
