Worried over an extra year

The news about annual fee hikes in Delhi University colleges may increase the woes of parents but what seems to be worrying them more is the financial burden of an extra year. Mallica Joshi reports...

The news about annual fee hikes in Delhi University colleges may increase the woes of parents but what seems to be worrying them more is the financial burden of an extra year.

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According to conservative estimates, the cost of living for a student from outside Delhi alone will go up by R114,400. Add to this the average annual fee of R10,000 and the cost of an extra year will go up to R1,24,400.

“This hike will hit us a lot more since a whole year has been added to the honours programme,” said KS Singh, a parent from Patna whose daughter is seeking admission in DU this year.

The colleges, however, say that they have always tried to help students financially and have scholarships and free-ships on need as well as merit basis.

The factor of increased costs has also raised the apprehension that parents will pull out girls within three years — with two-year diploma or three year bachelor’s degree — to avoid extra expenditure and deprive them of a chance to complete a honours degree.

“We have a number of scholarships for students. Corporate houses college free-ships and alumni scholarships are all part of this.

Around 15% of all students in the college get some sort of financial aid,” said Rukhsana Shroff, who teaches at Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Similarly, close to 15% students at St Stephen’s College also get financial aid from the college.