Students from drought-hit areas are struggling to get admissions in colleges this year as their parents, mostly farmers, are unable to pay fees due to consecutive drought in last three years. Despite the Maharashtra government’s decision to pay the exam fees of the students, the financial situation of the students belonging to farmer families is finding it difficult to complete their education.
Dhananjay Jadhav (27) from Latur has completed one year of B.Ed and wanted to take admission for the second year in Vasantrao Naik College Shirul in Latur district. He has to pay Rs 20,000 but cannot afford it. “We have 3.5 acre of land which does not give us enough income. I have a brother who is pursuing BSc and my father is paralysed. We also have a bank loan of Rs 80,000. I do not know how I will pay the fees this year. There are a few government colleges and hence many like me have taken admissions in private colleges,” he said.
Supriya Ghodke, who is pursing BSMS from Aurangabad College, has been facing similar difficulties. Her father has 2.5 acres of land in Beed that does not yield sufficient income to the family of four. “I have to pay hostel fees and exam fees this year. But my father has not yet managed to collect the money. I am still at home and not joined college. The government is neither listening to us nor is it bringing any relief to us,” she said.
However, education minister Vinod Tawde said that the decision of waiving off exam fees was taken for government-aided colleges and not private colleges. “We had promised to pay exam fees of the students in drought-hit areas. We cannot pay their entire fees. IIt’s not possible,”Mr Tawde said.
NCP youth wing leader Sangram Kote Patil claimed that there are about 16 lakh students in the state who cannot afford to pay fees this year. “The three years of drought has hit these families badly and the farmers are not in position to pay fees. Many of them have left colleges after Diwali vacation. The government should have some sympathetic view towards them and bring relief to the children of farmers. Many of them have not even received the exam fees. We have conducted protest rallies in every drought hit district but the government is not serious to resolve the issues of the farmers’ children,” Mr Patil said. Four lakh students from Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed (attached with Aurangabd University) another 1.70 lakh from Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani and Latur (attached with Nanded University), equal number of students from Ahemadnagar (attached to Pune university), 90,000 students from Solapur university, 1.10 lakh from Kolhapur university and 1.40 lakh from Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar (attached to Jalgaon University) are suffering due to the drought and not able to pay fees, he said. Mr Patil also said that around six lakh students belonging to Health Science University, Yashawantrao Chavan Open University and the students appearing for competitive exams are also finding it difficult to pay their academic fees.
