9 TISS students refuse certificates

MUMBAI: At least nine students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) refused to accept their post-graduate certificates during the annual convocation held on Monday to protest the institution’s withdrawal of the hostel and dining hall fees’ waiver given to socially backward class students.

A student said, “Several parents who had come from far-off places to attend the convocation ceremony requested us to let the event take place peacefully. So, we decided to protest silently without creating any disruption or chaos.”

Notwithstanding, about nine students bluntly refused to accept the certificates from the institute. Another student said, “I refused to accept the certificate, and I am not unhappy about it. This fight (protest) is for all upcoming batches’ students belonging to backward classes. We won’t let them (TISS) win by any chance.”

When asked if not having a certificate would affect future plans or job opportunities, a third student said, “Come what may, but giving in will lead to an unjustified win for the
institute.”

On May 4, the students’ union of TISS announced that the convocation would be disrupted if the institute failed to fulfil the students’ demands. A statement released by the students’ union read, “The administration is not fulfilling the promises they made in a notification issued on March 23. They had said that only Rs 4,500 would be charged as the upfront fee payment and Rs 5,000 aid would be given to the SC/ST students but now, they are asking them to pay Rs 12,500 upfront and much higher than other backward class (OBC) students.”

The students’ protest started on February 21, which makes it the 76th day when students are continuing to protest silently in the TISS Mumbai campus.