'Many Can't Afford IITs Anymore Due to Fee Hike': Students Protest at IIT-Delhi

An IIT-Delhi official said that the institute has formed a committee to look into the matter.

A month after students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, protested a fee hike, students of IIT Delhi followed suit, staging a protest on their campus on 31 August. The total academic fee of MTech students has risen by 100 percent.

(Photo: The Quint)

A month after students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, protested a fee hike, students of IIT-Delhi followed suit, staging a demonstration against the issue on their campus on 31 August. The total academic fee of MTech students has risen by 100 percent.

An MTech student at IIT-Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said, "I have come all the way from Arunachal Pradesh to study at IIT-Delhi. By the time we pursue our M.Tech, we hope to be financially independent. But now, we have to rely on our families. This is putting a lot of burden on students as well as their families. There are many who studied hard and got admission but could not pursue the course because of the fee hike.

An IIT-Delhi official said, "The current fee was decided by the Board and was implemented in January 2022."

On the request of the MTech students to review the tution fee, the Institute formed a committee, which looked into the matter. The committee has given its recommendations, which are awaiting the Board's approval.

An IIT Delhi official

Meanwhile, on August 7, the IIT-Bombay administration stated that it had to revise the charges to "stay alive and grow." A statement by the institute read, "The hostel fee increase is essential to cover actual expenses, allowing our other sources of income to be used to provide better academic facilities." The statement added that the government could not continue subsiding facilities beyond a point.

However, students at IIT-Delhi say that the drastic increase in their fees is not justified.

By How Much Have the Fees Been Hiked?

According to the changes in the fee structure laid down by IIT-Delhi, the total academic fee for full-time M.Tech students being admitted this semester (2022-2023) has been hiked by 100 percent to Rs 53,100, which excludes the hostel fees. Until last year, the fee was Rs 26,450. The 'tuition fee', which is a component of the total fees, has been hiked by 150 percent from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 for one semester.

The first-year M.Tech student said:

"The fees are so high that it is almost like studying in a private college. We have cleared competitive examinations to be admitted to the institute. In addition to the tuition fees, the hostel fees for girls amount to Rs 90,000 for the first semester and Rs 70,000 in the following semesters. This brings the total to around 5 lakh for the M.Tech course."

A first-year M.Tech student

The student added, "We have not come all the way to protest. However, the expenses are a huge deterrent to our everyday activities."

Another first-year M.Tech student at IIT-Delhi, originally from Rajasthan, told The Quint on the condition of anonymity: "It is unfair that students more capable than me are unable to take admissions in IIT. Our fees are so high that they are being compared to foreign universities now. Students belonging to lower-middle class families would aim for IITs earlier. But that is becoming impossible now."

We knew that this is the fee structure when we enrolled but we still hoped that we would be given concessions. Many students have had to take loans to study here.

An IIT Delhi student

The fees for PhD students have also been increased from Rs 20,150 to Rs 30,850. At IIT-Bombay, the tuition fees have been hiked from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 per semester.

'If Fees Are Being Hiked, Then Why Not Increase Our Stipends?'

Students argued that their fees have been hiked but their stipends have not increased.

Every student has to engage in Teaching Assistant (TA) work or research, for which they are given a stipend. They receive a stipend of Rs 12,400 per month.

The first-year student from Arunachal Pradesh said, "If the fees have been hiked, we should at least be given scholarships, an increase in stipends, or some incentives to keep us going."

Support Pours In for Protesting Students

Soon after the students started protesting, support poured in from across the student community.

A statement by Aishe Ghosh and Pritish Menon of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) read, "In an earlier series of protests demonstrated by students of IIT Bombay in the month of July-August, expressed their discomfort at the fee hikes imposed on them. They participated in a hunger strike to create pressure on the administration to consider their rightful demands."

The statement added, "When the administration was consulted, Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director of the institute, said that the hike was not anticipated and was long overdue. He also talked about the cost of infrastructural development costs, which is presently running on borrowed money, and that students are also getting stipends to cover their expenses. While these concerns needs to be considered, and the present scenario of education be re-examined, it is grossly unfair to cite the meagre stipend that students receive (a sum of Rs. 12400 in case of M.Tech students)."