After Student Protests, IIT-Delhi Announces Partial Rollback of Fee Hike

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)

Two days after students of IIT-Delhi staged protests against the fee hike, the administration released a notification with a revised fee structure.

Under the new fee structure, the administration has met students halfway. The M.Tech fees that had earlier risen from Rs 24,650 to Rs 53,100 have now been brought down to Rs 40,000.

The notification stated, "The Chairperson, BoG has accorded his approval to the recommendations of the committee constituted by the Director to look into the fee hike issue, as per which, it has been decided that the enhancement of the fee made for the new students w.e.f. 2nd Semester 2021-22 be revised."

The total fee payable at the time of admission for M.Tech students has been reduced from Rs 66,350 to Rs 53,150.

M.Tech students will now have to pay Rs 40,000 and PhD students must pay Rs 26,000 per annum. The fees for PhD students had earlier been increased from Rs 20,150 to Rs 30,850.

In a statement, an IIT-Delhi official indicated that the fee has been reduced on the basis of recommendations of the committee set up by the director to look into the representation made by a set of MTech students.

"As a result, the tuition fee and other charges have been reduced significantly," the statement added.

The tuition fees for MTech students, which were earlier hiked from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, have now been fixed at Rs 17,500. The one-time payment has been reduced from Rs 10,500 to Rs 8,150.

Students had been protesting since 31 August, saying that the fees were nearly as high as that in private colleges. While some had to take loans, many could not take admission even after studying hard and clearing the competitive exam.

An MTech student, who was protesting, told The Quint, "Some still hope that it will be lowered further. However, we are glad that the administration has responded to us positively. PhD students are not as satisfied and some students will continue to demand further dialogue between the administration and students."