Salem: Students, parents slam private institutions’ plan to enforce parking fees

SALEM: Students of Sona Group of Institutions and their parents have opposed its management’s plan to collect parking fees for their vehicles. The plan to levy parking fees came to light after an internal circular sent to the principals of the institutions on tariff approved by the chairman of the group went viral on social media.
As per the circular issued on Wednesday, an annual parking fee of ₹2,500 will be collected for two-wheelers and ₹7,500 for four-wheelers (only for disabled students).The management plans to collect the parking fees from this month. The circular was sent by V Karthikeyan, principal of Thiyagaraja Polytechnic College, to his fellow principals through email.
A second-year student of Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, one of the four institutions of the group, said, “My parents are already finding it difficult to pay fees for my studies. Now, it will be an additional burden on them. How can they make the college premises emission-free by collecting parking fees for two-wheelers, which is an easier mode of travel for the students,” he asked.
A third-year civil engineering student at Sona College of Technology said, “I travel nearly 40km to the college from my house every day. My car driver will be on the premises till my classes get over in the evening to drive me back home, as I am a disabled person.”
“Why should my parents pay parking fees for my car parked under a tree on the college premises,” he asked. A second-year student of Sona College of Arts and Science said the decision would hit students and their parents hard. “It was first-of-its-kind in the state,” he added.
J M Boopathi, a parent of a student, said, “The parking fee is an additional burden on parents when they struggling to pay the college fees.” When contacted by TOI, Karthikeyan said they had taken this decision to encourage the use of bicycles on the college premises. “Our intention is to make our premises emission-free,” he said.
On the circular, he said it was meant for principals and not for students. “We haven’t implemented the decision,” he said. On collecting parking fees from disabled students, he said the drivers of the students park their vehicles on the premises since morning.
“To avoid that, we have decided to collect parking fees from them,” he said. Tamil Nadu higher education secretary D Karthikeyan was not available over the phone for his comment on the college’s decision.