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23.08.2020

The Vice Chancellor,

Tamil Nadu National Law University,
Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Sub: Request for Cancellation or Reasonable Concession on different fees being levied on
the students of Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) - Reg

Dear ma’am,

1. We, the Student Body of TNNLU, would like to bring to your notice some issues raised
related to the levying of fees by the University administration for the academic year 2020-21, as
stated in Lr. No. 1574/REGR/TNNLU/2020 ​dated ​17 August 2020 (hereinafter referred to as
“the Circular”).

2. During the ordinary course of events, students at TNNLU are usually levied a fee of Rs.
1,93,000 /- in total for each academic year, a sum that many students from middle income groups
find hard to pay even without the disruptions caused by the pandemic. However, since the
inception of the public health crisis, we have seen education being shifted to suit remote
working, and financial stringency creeping into households with many people having lower pay
than before or no pay at all. Retaining the old fee structure as it is, will particularly affect middle
and lower income groups that are already in great distress. It is appreciable that the University
decided to levy user charges such as room rent, water, electricity for the campus, etc. if and only
when we resume physical classes. Nevertheless, the exigencies of this unique situation demand a
revision in the way we look at, not only how to provide education and how to assess students in
ways other than exams, but also the changes in the costs of providing education moving beyond
the physical classroom to a different pedagogy of teaching, availability of good internet
connectivity, and electricity. In this plea, “quoted fee” collectively refers to all the different fees
charged from students admitted under different categories. The quoted fee generally is Rs.
1,11,000 /- and for NRIs it varies from Rs. 2,62,252.55 /- for students from SAARC countries to
Rs. 3,74,646.50 /- for students from non-SAARC countries.

3. The various issues raised and suggestions offered by the students with regard to the quoted fee
are as follows -

A. Revise Tuition Fees: ​The tuition fees must be revised, and the University must offer
some concessions to reflect the change in teaching pedagogies. The reduction in tuition
fee must take into serious consideration the growing economic precarity, students’ having
to pay out each month for good internet connectivity, and increased or continued
electricity usage. These concerns have also been recognized and spelt out in the recent
Bar Council of India Circular or Advisory in Annexure C to be considerate on the point
of fees.

B. Relaxation in charges made towards certain resources: Any charges made on

resources that we may not be able to fully utilize remotely such as the sums levied for
exam fees, seminars and co-curricular activities have to be cancelled. Further, if the
library fee charging Rs. 5,000 is for the general maintenance of library, buying books and
subscribing to online resources, we would humbly like to know the reason for paying the
entire amount charged as Library fee when we have only online access to a few
resources. RTI No. Lr. No. 06/REGR/RTI/TNNLU/2019 ​dated ​16 July, 2019 in
Annexure D, specified the costs paid by the university towards Remote Access Service
and the various online resources. The fee must be reduced to reflect the costs of providing
access to the available online resources alone.

C. Set off unutilized amounts from previous year’s user charges from the quoted fee:
The User charges of last year that were paid by the students have not been fully utilised
as the students had to leave the campus earlier than planned. So between 16 March, 2020
to 23 May, 2020, students who left the campus did not avail the services under the head
of user charges i.e. hostel rooms, water supply, mess charges, Wi-Fi, electricity, sports
and games, etc. Also, the examinations for the previous even semester were suspended
 and Rs. 1000/- must be set off from the quoted fee for the present year. The savings made
from the last semester must be used for the current semester and such amounts have to be
deducted from the quoted fee. It would also be helpful, if the Administration furnishes
us with information as to how the remaining fee paid towards user charges last year were
used up or redirected towards other spendings, if any. This request is without prejudice to
the portion of fees which were utilised by the University for providing the salary and
other remunerations to teaching and non-teaching staff.

D. Extension of the due date for payment of fee: ​Furthermore, the suddenness with which
the Circular caught us regarding fee payment for the next academic year and the due date
being 19 September 2020 (approximately a month after the announcement) only
increased our anxiety in arranging for requisite sums at banks through loans, or through
private loans or to wait for the next harvest or even the next pay or combination of the
above. It would be of great help to extend it to at least 5 October 2020, so that we have
ample amount of time to do the necessary with a sound financial plan that will help
ensure that we have adequate resources in case of a medical emergency.

E. Extension of the due date for payment of the fee in instalments: For the same reasons
stated above under clause 3(D), the option of instalments must be spaced out for two
more months until February 2021.

F. Cancel Penalty Clause: Paragraph 6 of the Circular states that students who do not pay
within the due-date of 19 September 2020 will be charged a penalty for late fee payment
at 15% interest per annum. The penalty provision adds further burden to our already
precarious position, This entire plea rests on our woes of financially crippling
circumstances that the pandemic has pulled us into where we have to arrange for the
quoted fee amount immediately. Imposing a penalty on top of the quoted fee (15% of the
quoted fee for non-NRI students by itself comes up to Rs. 16,500/-) will push us to
further extremes. The penalty fee itself is an egregiously high amount to pay for some
families from lower income groups.
4. For the above stated reasons, the TNNLU Student Body humbly requests the TNNLU
Administration to take cognizance of our financial troubles and to do the needful, in the general
interest of all students of TNNLU.

5. Soliciting an urgent and favorable intervention in this important matter guided by reason and
compassion.

Thank you

Sincerely,
The Student Body of TNNLU

Please find Attached,

Annexure A - Circular Lr. No. 1574/REGR/TNNLU/2020 ​dated 1​ 7 August 2020 detailing the
fee to be collected.

Annexure B - Email from the Vice Chancellor ​dated ​16 March 2020 suspending classes w.e.f
17.03.2020 to 31.03.2020.

Annexure C - BCI Circular or Advisory to be considerate on the point of fees

Annexure D - RTI No. Lr. No. 06/REGR/RTI/TNNLU/2019 ​dated 1​ 6 July, 2019 on Library
databases, remote access and fines collected by the Library.
ANNEXURE A
Annexure B
Annexure C
Annexure D