“Bus fee for lockdown months, receipt-less payments”: SSM College ‘fleeces’ students

Scores of students at SSM College of Engineering and Technology, Parihaspora Pattan, on Monday alleged that the college authorities are insisting them to pay the transport and maintenance charges of the recent months during the lockdown wherein the services were not availed by any student.

While speaking to Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the students said the college management was charging each student Rs 500 a month under a caption of ‘maintenance charges’.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March till date, no student has availed the transport facility of the college, and the charging of maintenance fee (Rs 500) from students is a tactic to mint money from us,” the students said.

They further alleged that besides the ‘surplus fee’ of Rs 500, the students are already paying a huge amount as transportation fee.

“SSM College authorities are taking bus fee from the students which the students were not availing and they also charge Rs 45,000 as admission fee for one year in addition to Rs 1,700 for registration for which they don’t provide us any receipt.”

According to the SSM college students, the management has said that there are “very clear directions” that half the bus fee shall be charged to meet insurance, salary and maintenance of buses.

The aggrieved students said that the SSM authorities told them that “The committee has recommended Rs 500 after considering all expenditures.

Principal SSM College, Sajad Ahmad, informed KNO that the transport maintenance fee was being charged “under AICTE guidelines” in order to pay salaries to the drivers.

“As far as charging of other fees is concerned, Rs 1,700 are charged from the students as registration fee that goes into the Kashmir University account,” Ahmad said. KNO