Osmania University has raised fees for several programmes, including LLB, LLM degrees – a decision that will exclude poor, rural students.

Each day after class, Lenin Irigi, a second-year law student at the University College of Law at Osmania University, puts on a red or yellow vest, grabs his bike and ventures into Hyderabad's urban sprawl. The 26-year-old, who hails from Kondapuram village in Nalgonda district of Telangana, relies on his part-time work as a Zomato and Swiggy delivery boy to pay his fees. In November, when the University College of Law, like other departments and institutions of Osmania University, abruptly increased the tuition fees by more than three times, Irigi had to lean on his artsy side to pay the fees. Irigi took up commissions to paint placards, walls, or campaign banners for political parties.