IIT Bombay hikes fees by 35% for MTech, PhD courses; Students not in favor

However, the decision to increase the fees by 35% is not being accepted by the students. They claim that they are already dealing with the impact of the pandemic and inflation.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has finally hiked its fees for MTech and PhD students by nearly 35%. The decision came after deferring it for two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The approval regarding the fee hike was already received by the board of governors three years ago. The institute has been contemplating a hike in postgraduate fees for some time.

Fees hike by 35% not accepted!

However, the decision to increase the fees by 35% is not being accepted by the students. They claim that they are already dealing with the impact of the pandemic and inflation.

A social media post by a students' group stated that the students are already struggling with the pandemic and inflation, without having a hike in fellowship for three years. A section of students is planning to meet the institute authorities.

A brochure released by the institute for M Tech programmes quoted the per semester academic fees for students seeking admissions this year as INR 55,400, which was around INR 40,250 in 2019-20 (some of the components were waived off or were slashed during the pandemic).

However, this is a non-concessional fee structure. The fees this year for the concessional group, which includes almost all M Tech students who get stipends from the institute, is INR 35,400. In 2019-20, the concessional fee structure was at INR 20,250.

Fees at older IITs likely to increase

Most students studying at IIT Bombay come under the concessional group and were paying only a sum of INR 20,250 per semester, a professor told TOI. Additionally, these students get around INR 12,000 per month as stipends for teaching and research assistantship, he added. Fees at most older IITs are likely to see an increase this year. The information brochure for IIT-Delhi quotes the M Tech fees for entry-level students (receiving project and teaching assistantship) as INR 69,100 this year.

According to IIT Bombay Director, Subhasis Chaudhuri, the fee hike for PG courses was long overdue and the institute had deferred the hike for two years. "The infrastructural development cost is coming from borrowed money - the loan that the institute is taking from the Higher Education Funding Agency. The repayment can be done only through the revenue generated from tuition fees. Our fees are very low even after the hikes. These students also get monthly stipends. Internationally, the cost of masters' programmes in engineering runs in thousands of dollars," said Chaudhuri.

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