One Bangladeshi PhD student is among the five suspended students from South Asian University in Delhi, also known as SAARC University, for being involved in a protest demanding an increase in stipend.
Since October 13, students of SAU have been sitting in a protest demanding an increase in Master's and PhD scholarships. On November 1, they began an indefinite sit-in, occupying the lobby of the administration floor, reports The Indian Express.
Over 80 students sat on a daylong hunger strike to demand the revocation of “unilateral” action against the five students, an increase in stipend under the full free scheme and representation in key bodies dealing with students’ issues.
They will start an indefinite hunger strike from Sunday, the General Body of Students of the SAU announced, according to the Telegraph online.
The university administration maintained that the students had revised the demands that had been met and the new demands could not be addressed without the approval of the governing body.
The SAU, an international university established by the member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), offers PhD and Masters programmes.
In post-graduate courses, the institution provides scholarships based on performance on the entrance test and the basis of economic criteria to around 20 per cent of students. However, all PhD students either get Junior Research Fellowship or SAU financial support.
About half of the students who are awarded fully funded scholarships get a waiver from hostel and tuition fees and a stipend of Rs 5,000 per month while the other half get only their hostel and tuition fees waived off.
The university recently issued a notification to reduce the stipend of students from Rs 5000 to Rs 4,000 which triggered the protests. Following a discussion with students last month, the amount was restored to Rs 5,000.
