IIT-Bombay hikes fees, divides mess charges among all students

Mumbai city news: Barely a year after it introduced a two-fold hike in its tuition fees,the institute has decided to increase the fees charged under various heads, including a 300 % hike in hostel rent

Studying at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is set to become costlier.

IIT-B has decided to charge all the hostelites at Rs 1,500 every semester as mess establishment charges. (HT)

Barely a year after it introduced a two-fold hike in its tuition fees,the institute has decided to increase the fees charged under various heads, including a 300 % hike in hostel rent, 167 % hike in gymkhana fees, 100 % hike in examination, registration and medical fees, and between 30% and 50% increase in other charges. However, the concessional tuition fees charged from post-graduate students has been reduced by 50%.

Last year, the central govermment had increased the annual tuition fees from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakh. However, the hike came with a fee waiver for specially abled students and those belonging to other reserved categories.

According to an estimate, students staying on the campus will now have to pay an additional Rs 22,000- Rs27,000 per annum towards hostel, mess, medical, gymkhana and other charges. The annual concessional tuition fees of Rs10,000 has been reduced to Rs 5,000. The academic fee is Rs 50,000 a year, but students who don’t have a sponsor are given a concession of Rs40,000.

IIT-B has decided to charge all the hostelites at Rs 1,500 every semester as mess establishment charges. Earlier, only 2,000 students, who used the mess, were charged Rs 6,000 for this purpose. The mess services for remaining 7,000 students have been outsourced to contractors.

The institute has justified the hike as standard adjustments for inflation and charges for new services. “The hostel rent, which has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000, was last increased in 1997. Similarly, other charges were also due for a hike for long. The gymkhana fee has been increased to recover the cost of the new swimming pool and other indoor sports facilities. The insurance cover has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh,” said Mukherjee.

The students feel that the authorities should have discussed it with students before deciding on the hike.