Mumbai : State unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student’s wing of the ruling BJP, has decided to step up its agitation against the fee hike in ITIs across the state. This was indicated when some members of the organisation went on to block Chief Minister’s vehicle at Latur on Thursday.
For over a week, the ABVP has resorted to agitation over the issue of ITI fee hike. According to ABVP state secretary Vivekananda Ujalambkar, the fee hike is completely unjust as it would deprive students from education and an opportunity to acquire skills. “The fee hike is over 10 fold in some cases. The fees for electrical trade was raised to Rs 3,500 from Rs 380 while that for the painter’s trade has been hiked to Rs 3,500 from Rs 50. Since, the students in ITIs are generally from weaker economic background, this fee hike is potentially detrimental for their education,” Ujalambkar said. He also said that the agitation would be intensified. “If the fee hike is inevitable, it should be within the reach of economically weaker sections of the society,” he said.
