Refund Remedies

Abinash Maharana 5 years ago 2 min read

On 26th May 2020, the Director sent a mail outlining IIIT’s policy for refunds in lieu of the pandemic and mid-semester disruption in Spring 2020. These are yet to be processed but a recent mail by the dean academics provides some more information. The verdict on fees are as follows:

Mess

According to an email sent by the Director, a fixed part of the mess fee is spent on manpower charges for the mess staff as well as a few infrastructural items. Their analysis shows that a fixed part of expenditure comes to 35-40% of the total, with manpower costs for the mess personnel being a significant component along with infrastructural items.

In a great show of support toward the mess staff, the institute has paid them their full salary for the months of April and May. Further, each faculty and staff member has committed to paying

₹ 1000 and ₹ 500 per month towards this, respectively, starting from April. They also state that they would like each student to support ₹ 1500 (as a one-time charge) in total towards this cause. Under this arrangement, the remaining part of the mess advance will be returned or adjusted against future payments.

Hostel

The hostel fee includes a fixed cost for maintenance, housekeeping, security, and other expenses. This comes to about Rs 950 per month per student according to the institute’s calculations. The email conveys that the remaining part of the hostel charges will be refunded or adjusted, although it impacts the institute’s revenue in a poor manner. They further add that the water and electricity charges will be adjusted against future dues.

Update/ Tuition Fees

The latest email from Dean Academics dated 3rd July 2020 states that the institute aims to fully support the mess and hostel staff in these tough times and the issue of their salary is being discussed at the moment. Further, it notes that there will be NO hike in the tuition fees this annual year and it will be maintained at the last academic year level.

Considering the way the income of a major portion of the populace has been affected, this new structure is facing criticism by the student community for being so stringent in these tough times.