IIT-Madras research scholars need to pay double fee from coming academic session

Research scholars at IIT-Madras should get ready to pay some more money as their academic fee. From the coming June, they will have to pay double the usual amount for their academic fee.

Presently, there are nearly 2,500 M.S students and Ph.D scholars pursuing their programmes in institute. All these students will have to pay Rs. 8,200 as academic fees, which is just double of what they were paying till last year Rs. 4,100.

In all, each scholar will have to pay nearly Rs. 27,000 for their course instead of Rs. 22,000. A student commented that the increase has been quite steep. An M.S. student said, "The academic fee has been doubled. The authorities have also increased gymkhana fees that include auditorium and sports facilities from Rs. 100 to Rs 1,000. Even the hostel rent has gone up from Rs. 550 to Rs. 2,250 a semester. They could have increased the fee gradually, instead of this sudden hike"

Students said that the proposal for increasing the fee was not in the Senate meeting agenda and not many of them aware of such proposal being hosted. Another student said, "As far as M.S. students are concerned, they don’t even have classes after the first year. They don’t have to write exams, they just pursue their theses and leave the institution once they finish it. What is the point of charging them extra fees for facilities they don't use?"

IITs have recently increase the fee for their undergraduate programmes by 80% from Rs. 50,000 a year to Rs. 90,000/. Dean Prof L.S.Ganesh, said, the decision to increase the fee was taken at a meeting of deans helt at IIT-Roorkee recently. He said, "The fee has not been increased in over 10 years. Even now, the rates are much lower than those charged at other colleges."