This is how the fee structure of the IIMs will look like from June led by IIM-Ahmedabad.

Total fees for a two year PGP in management from IIM-Ahmedabad in 2007: Rs 4.3 lakh.

The likely fees that IIM-A students will pay for the same course beginning June 2008 at IIM-Ahmedabad: Rs 11.5 lakh!

That's a fee hike of roughly 167 per cent.

IIM-Kolkata has hiked its fee from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, IIM-Bangalore from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, IIM-Lucknow from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, IIM-Indore from Rs 3.9 lakh to Rs 7.1 lakh and IIM-Kozhikode from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.

The issue now lies with the central government-appointed R C Bhargava committee which has asked all the IIMs to freeze their decision till it completes its review. The committee's prime concern relates to the affordability of these courses after the fee hike by IIM students, most of whom belong to the middle class and lower middle class.

The IIMs say they will charge income dependent fees from students, trying to allay concerns that economically backward Indians won't be able to afford management courses. According to a brief released by IIM-Ahmedabad it will charge no fees from students whose annual family income is less than Rs 100,000. Students whose total annual family income is less than Rs 6 lakh will be charged Rs 5.5 lakh for the two-year course, claims IIM-A.

The Indian Institutes of Technology have followed suit and propose to increase their fees as well.

Will this take the institutes of higher education away from the reach of the Indian lower class and middle classes?