IIT just became FIVE times more expensive

If the IIT Council has its way, fees for the most prestigious engineering institute will shoot up fivefold

Those opting for any of the 15 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will have to fork out Rs 2.50 lakhs a year instead of Rs 50,000 if the IIT Council that decides matters relating to these institutes approves a recommendation of the committee headed by IIT Bombay Chairman Anil Kakodkar at its meeting here on Friday.

To protect the poor students who may not be able to afford this fee hike, the committee has suggested a low interest rate educational loan scheme. The committee has, however, proposed no hike in fee for the post-graduate courses.

The IIT Council is also expected to discuss the format of the IIT Joint Entrance Examination, based on the report of another committee headed by Science Secretary T Ramasami that wants the class XII marks counted while preparing the merit list that is not done now.

Write an online petition: Hike in IIT fees: Is it justified?

The five-member Kakodkar committee, formed to suggest a road map for the IITs' autonomy and growth, wants the fees increased for the undergraduate courses to make the IITs more self-sufficient and pave the way for more autonomy.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh

Do you believe the move to hike the fees five times is a good move? Or will this mean that IITs will become inacessible to middle class Indians? Tell us what you think about this fee hike. Post your opinions on the discussion board below!

In its report the Kakodkar committee says the IITs will no longer depend on government grants for their recurring expenses, and would be able to create faculty and non-faculty posts on their own without having to seek government clearance.

The committee cites the IIM fee structure in this regard. The IIMs charge fees ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6.5 lakh a year per student for their postgraduate programmes. This allows the IIMs to pay the faculty salaries on their own; so they can create posts and fill them without having to approach the government.

The committee was set up by HRD minister Kapil Sibal in October 2009.

Write an online petition: Hike in IIT fees: Is it justified?

Its other members are TV Mohandas Pai, director (human resource), Infosys; K. Mohan Das, vice-chancellor of the Kerala Health and Allied Sciences University; Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT Madras; and Hari Bhartia, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry. IIT Guwahati director Gautam Barua, IIT Mandi director T. Gonsalves and IIT Kanpur chairman Anandakrishnan were special invitees.

It hot only held a series of meetings with IIT directors, faculty and industry representatives but also made a trip to China in November to study the best practices in science education and research in five universities. The members were quite impressed by the improved quality of education in China.

The committee visited Fudan University and Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, Zhejiang University in Hang Zhou, Tsing Hua University in Beijing and Tianjin University in Tianjin.

Do you believe the move to hike the fees five times is a good move? Or will this mean that IITs will become inacessible to middle class Indians? Tell us what you think about this fee hike. Post your opinions on the discussion board below.