IIT BTech Fee Hike Sparks Student Protests: Education Ministry Panel Reviews Financial Issues
Introduction
The Indian Institutes of Technology is expected to raise the fees for the BTech program. A committee established by the Ministry Of Education will examine the fee issue at the IITs. The committee will submit a report to the IIT Council, according to a committee member. The committee will review the existing fee structure, total fee collection, expenditure, and recurring expenses at IITs. According to a source, directors of IIT Bombay, IIT Indore, and IIT Tirupati. The education minister chairs the IIT Council and is the highest decision-making authority for the IITs.
“We are just looking at the fees issue at IITs and nothing else for now. While the IIT Council meeting date has not been communicated by the ministry yet, the committee’s work is in progress. Only after the IIT Council decides, the details will be shared.”, said a member of the committee.
A student involved in the fee hike protest at IIT Bombay said, “Accessibility to IITs is reducing year-on-year due to rising fees.” According to students, the IIT Bombay fee is about Rs 1,23,350 per semester, and at IIT Delhi, it is 1,06,250 per semester.
Similar Protests at IITs
A similar effort to increase fees for MTech courses was seen in 2019.
In the past few years, many top IITs have witnessed such fee hike protests. 50% of fees were raised for masters and research programs at IIT Bombay in 2022. In the same year, MTech students reported a 100% fee hike at IIT Delhi.
No Clarity from IITs
A student who led the protest at IIT Bombay said, “In 2022, the institute had introduced a sudden fee hike with many gaps in the rationale of how the institute introduced the fee components. PhD students are made to pay course fees and non-mess fees despite a different hostel fee being paid already with no explanations. Now, in the last two years, the institute is still increasing the fees but in a moderate way, like Rs 500-Rs 1,000 per semester in certain components. Even for the new incoming, the fees are increased.” According to the students, there is no clarity from the institution on the reason for the fee hike.
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