Fee hike routine, no major increase in majority courses: Delhi University

The Delhi University (DU) on Friday downplayed concerns about the recent fee hikes for several undergraduate and postgraduate courses, emphasising that the increases are routine and not a significant burden on students.

"This is a routine increase of the fee. Every year we raise the fee by 5-6 per cent. It is not a big issue. For the B.Tech programme, we are giving fee waivers to students whose parents' income comes under certain categories," the official told ANI.

The university plans to increase fees for several of its undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including B.Tech, Law, and some PhD programmes, in the new session.

The new fee structure will see first-year B.Tech students paying 3.7 per cent more, with fees rising from Rs 2.16 lakh to Rs 2.24 lakh.

The five-year integrated law programme will experience a 5 per cent hike, increasing fees from Rs 1.90 lakh to Rs 1.99 lakh. The most significant increase is in PhD courses, with a 60.2 per cent rise, taking fees from Rs 4,450 to Rs 7,130.

The move has been criticised by teachers and members of the Executive Council, who argue that the fee hikes are meant to repay loans from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).

"Continuous enhancement of the fee structure of various programmes is strongly condemnable. One of the reasons students opt for DU is its fee structure. But in the past two years, DU has started introducing courses with high fee structures and even increased them. When the central government should solely be responsible for education and health, the present government is reducing its budget allocation for education and directing universities to opt for self-financing courses. This constitutes the commercialization and privatisation of university education," Aman Kumar, a member of the Executive Council stated.

Fees for some courses for foreign students have also been increased, though many international students will benefit from discounted fees for DU's MA Hindu Studies programme. Additionally, Tibetan applicants will be exempt from registration and additional fees.