Students union begins strike at SPPU over high entrance test fees

Pune: National Students Union of India (NSUI) launched a strike at the SPPU on Wednesday to demand that the entrance examination fees be decreased, extra credit courses made optional and stipend of the earn-and-learn scheme increased.The protesting NSUI members/ students include three on a hunger strike.The union said SPPU’s entrance fees have seen a sharp and continuous rise over the last few years. “In the 2023-24 academic year (AY), the fees stood at Rs400 for reserved category and Rs600 for open category students. It rose sharply to Rs800 for reserved and Rs1,000 for open category students in AY 2026-27,” said political science student Siddhant Jambhulkar — an NSUI activist on hunger strike with fellow students Vikas Avchar and Rahul Gudadhe.The NSUI said the university spent only around Rs36 lakh to conduct the exams in 2024-25, against an earning of Rs1.6 crore. Similarly, it spent Rs8.6 lakh in 2025–26 against a revenue of Rs 71.9 lakh. “SPPU is a dream for students in Maharashtra — especially those from Marathwada and Vidarbha. The entrance exams fee must be reduced to Rs300, otherwise bright but poor students will be deprived of access to higher education,” said Jambulkar.

NSUI has also demanded that extra credit courses, like cyber security, be made optional because students have to pay Rs1,510 annually for the courses that are conducted online without the credits reflecting in the official marksheets. Another demand is to increase the stipend from Rs55 to Rs80 as earned by disadvantaged students under the earn-and-learn scheme.SPPU’s officiating registrar Prafulla Pawar said they were looking positively at the demands. “On April 25, there is a management committee meeting, where we will present the demands. There are designated authorities to take decisions at SPPU and it needs to be routed through them. I explained this to the NSUI members. I hope the students cease to protest after our assurance,” he added.