IIT Fee More Than Doubled; Total Waiver For SC/ST, Disabled, Poor

The annual fees for undergraduate courses in IITs will be hiked from existing Rs 90,000 to Rs two lakh from upcoming academic session and there will be total fee waiver for SCs and STs, the differently-abled and those belonging to economically weaker sections.

A decision to hike the fee by over two-fold has been taken by the HRD Ministry following a proposal by an IIT panel, HRD Ministry officials said.

The Ministry has decided to hike the fees for undergraduate courses in IITs from existing Rs 90,000 to Rs two lakh, they said.

Students belonging to families whose annual income is less than Rs 1 lakh will be able to avail 100 per cent fee waiver, along with those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the differently-abled.

Last month the Standing Committee of IIT Council (SCIC) had approved a three-fold hike in annual fees.

The benefit will not be limited to these categories, but those belonging to families with annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh will be entitled to a waiver of two-third amount of the fee irrespective of their category.

The rest of the students who do not fall under any of these categories will be facilitated with loans to fund their education, the officials said.

Students who are already enrolled in various IITs will continue to pay their fee according to the old slabs and the new structure will be applicable only for fresh enrollments, they added.

The panel, headed by IIT Roorkee Chairman Ashok Misra, met last month and approved a proposal for a three-fold increase in tuition fee from the present Rs 90,000 to Rs 3 lakh per annum from the next academic session.

However, the final decision was taken by Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, who chairs the IIT Council, the highest decision-making body of all the 16 IITs.

A proposal for three-fold increase in tuition fee was first introduced before the Standing Committee at its meeting in Mumbai in October last, but it was referred to an expert committee comprising IIT directors.