Proposal to raise IIT fees has been put on hold

Ahead of the Bihar assembly sections, a proposal to raise fees for IIT courses has been shelved. The silver lining to this proposal, however, is that more scholarship may be offered to the economically weaker students.

An IIT professor who preferred to be kept anonymous has stated that the issue of the sensitive fee hike proposal, which is headed by HRD minister Smriti Irani, should reach a decision by the next two months, especially after the Bihar elections.

The Bihar election will be running from 12 October to 5 November, and will take place in % phases.

The ministry seems to be in favour of providing the needy students with financial aid after the fee hike, should it be approved.

The HRD ministry also stated that there would be a committee of directors set up to examine the way to boost loans to students while maintaining the current scholarships. These provisions are especially made for students from SC (Scheduled Caste and ST (Scheduled Tribes)

However, there has been no explanation given as to why the aforementioned students will need more financial backup, when they currently only pay 10% of the usual IIT fee charge.

At present, the more financially stable students at IITs pay tuition of up to Rs. 90,000 per annum. In comparison, the SC and ST students as well as who have a family income of less than 4.5 lakh per annum pay 10% of the fees. IITs also raised their fess from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 90,000 per year in 2013.

The ministry is also looking forward to recommendations by a group of distinguished persons to establish if the current two-stage entrance process for IIT applicants requires modifications.

Currently, 18 IITs reside in India, with three more to start operations from 2016.

 

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/lRMaVTIb1K8ZLfewyqSrgM/IITs-may-hike-course-fee-today.html