The unprecedented hike in the fee structure of undergraduate courses at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), effective from the next academic year, has raised serious concerns among students.
The Modi government at the Centre raised the annual fee from existing Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakhs, which amounts to 122 per cent hike.
Expressing concern for students who would depend on loans for their education, Ph.D. student Neha Dangi said, “With such a big hike in fees, IIT students will be enslaved to loans. They will no longer be free to pursue their studies and passions as their minds will be filled with the worries of repaying fat loans. They will have to take up jobs to pay off their education loans.”
Agreeing with Neha, Sarthak, who is an IIT aspirant, added, “Admission in IITs is based on merit and there is a lot of demand for the courses. A loan of Rs 2 lakh for each of the four years amounts to a lot of money and this excludes expenses on hostel and books. The government should have a plan for students like us whose parents are economically stable.”
A PG student, on condition of anonymity, explained that the PG and Ph.D. courses fees is very less as compared to UG courses, but such a steep rise in the fees would shatter the dreams of IIT aspirants who have not even made a mark yet. “A MS student pays a semester fee of around Rs 10,000. A research scholar gets a stipend, which tides over his expenses. Such a steep rise in UG annual fees will create difficulties in attracting talent in form of new IITians”.
A private university student Manik also echoed their views and felt that such a hike could affect other prestigious institutes too in future.
“We should see this as a matter of concern in a broader perspective. Today it is IIT and tomorrow it can be any other public and private institutes as IITs often set the benchmark. We cannot let such high fees in IIT affect other institutions. The hike has put higher education at the IITs almost on a par with private institutions.”
