NIFT Hikes Fee During Pandemic, Controlled Social Media Policy To Ensure No Backlash From Students

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is certainly not a fan favourite right now, especially due to some policies they’ve come out with.

Recently they mailed students the new Social Media Policy and now news of a hiked fees is making the rounds.

Mind you, we are still experiencing the coronavirus pandemic and most schools and colleges are still shut down with most operating through online mediums.

With the new college year beginning, NIFT had recently mailed students their fee structure for the academic year 2020-2021.

However, what shocked students was the extremely high amount, considering students are not using campus facilities.

What Are NIFT’s Hiked Fees?

Reports reveal that NIFT has supposedly increased the student fee by almost 10%.

The All India Students’ Association released a statement on this saying, “For the upcoming semester, NIFT has increased its fees by around 10%. Most of the courses, including regular laboratory classes, will be impossible to conduct amid the pandemic. Hence, it is complete injustice to force the students to pay full tuition fees. The AISA also demands NIFT to stop threatening the students and recognise the right to their freedom of expression.” 

The current total fees of Non-NRI students at NIFT for the July- December 2020 semester is a whopping Rs. 1,31,600.

As per reports, the fees for NRI students has been increased by almost Rs. 1 lakh.

The fee structure for students across different semesters is constantly increasing.

For students from the 2019-2020 academic year, the fee structure for semesters 7 and 8 is:

• Rs. 1,31,600 – for the July- December 2020 semester
• Rs. 1,13,200 – for the January to June 2021 semester
• They also have to pay an additional Rs. 3,500 for the Alumni Association Members Fee

For students from the 2020-2021 academic year, the fee structure for semesters 5 and 6 is:

• Rs. 1,33,950 – for the July- December 2020 semester
• Rs. 1,18,350 – for the January to June 2021 semester

For students from the 2020-2021 academic year, the fee structure for semesters 3 and 4 is:

• Rs. 1,39,800 – for the July- December 2020 semester
• Rs. 1,23,700 – for the January to June 2021 semester

Some of the charges that students are especially rallying against include Library Fees, Mediclaim and Student Development Fee, lab charges and more.

Students state that it is unfair and unnecessary to add fees for these areas as none of them are being used by students at the moment.

In fact, instead of reducing the fees as students had hoped the institute would do, they have only increased it.

As per a report from NewsClick, a student from NIFT Kangra reportedly said, “The college issued the social media policy a few days before sending us the fee notice. It restricts us from raising our issues or talking about anything that would spoil the image of the college on social media. Hence, the students are scared of talking about this issue.”

She further added that “This social media policy came after we protested against the institute for taking our exams during the pandemic. The syllabus had not been completed, we had to learn stitching from YouTube.”

Students have been given a deadline till 7th September 2020 to submit their fees, after which there will be a fine of Rs. 100 per day until September 18th, 2020.

The circular also states that the names of students who have not paid the fees till that time will be struck from the institute rolls without any notice.

A Bachelor of Design student from NIFT Kolkata also reportedly said that NIFT still has the same syllabus and has not made any changes due to the pandemic and lockdown.

She said that “The Fashion Design department had been asked to make a collection for the jury using their sarees and bedsheets. The institute does not care and pay any attention to our problems. Due to this uncertainty, so many students are going through major mental health issues, including myself. We feel very helpless because they are not ready to listen to us.”

Read More: DU’s Lawyer: “Give Me A Second Lordship, My Computer Hanged,” Court Raps Him With His Own Statement

Reaction On Twitter

On social media, many students are coming out and speaking against this unjust decision by NIFT.

We are from NIFT. Our College is demanding full fees. Due to pandemic our parent's salaries is reduced or they have been laid off. So we urge to reduce our fees by at least 50%.@HRDMinistry @TexMinIndia @PMOIndia @smritiirani @RubikaLiyaquat@NIFT_HO#reduceniftsemesterfees

— Kumar Gaurav (@KumarGauravIsOn) July 30, 2020

https://twitter.com/Mohammad_Nabbu/status/1288912299332263936

WE NEED HELP. We students of NIFT have been asked to pay the full college fees by September with a hike of 10% despite the ongoing pandemic. We are being asked to pay for infrastructure, library fee, etc. despite not using them all these months.

— Sachin Raj (@SachinR30993138) July 31, 2020

https://twitter.com/guptar/status/1290463392734556163

We humbly thank MP @DKSureshINC for adddressing the issue. We hope @smritiirani takes the appropriate decision to reduce the fee at the earliest. The Bangalore Student Community stands along with NIFT students in their fight for #reduceniftsemesterfees. pic.twitter.com/zzbMVL2M5a

— indianstucom (@indianstucom) August 5, 2020

NIFT students need an explanation for the following : (A thread)

1) Why does the fee structure include library fees, exam fees, medical fees? NIFT has not conducted any exams for the students even in the previous semester, they haven’t even finished portions of a few subjects

— Nift Student (@NiftStudent) July 31, 2020

https://twitter.com/bhosDKNY/status/1290511106872471553

WE NEED HELP. We students of NIFT have been asked to pay the full college fees by September with a hike of 10% despite the ongoing pandemic. We are being asked to pay for infrastructure, library fee, etc. despite not using them all these months.

— Sachin Raj (@SachinR30993138) July 31, 2020

Not long ago, NIFT was also embroiled in controversy over their problematic Social Media Policy where students could get debarred from sitting in exams and campus placement.

The issue came about due to the vague wording of the line which said, “Any content maligning NIFT, its policies and employees will be viewed adversely inviting disciplinary action and inter alia, penalties. debarment from sitting the examination, campus placements etc.”

This supposed content that could malign NIFT and what all comes under it is not elaborated, leading students to fear for their freedom of speech.

This post is tagged under: NIFT Hikes Fee, NIFT fees, NIFT fee hike, NIFT online classes, NIFT online class boycott, campus policy, National Institute of Fashion Technology, NIFT, NIFT censoring, NIFT social media, nift social media policy, increased fees, charging more fees, during pandemic, lockdown, course, no classes, boycott online classes

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