NIFT, IIM fees on a par, salary offers poles apart

The fees charged by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), which is set up under the aegis of the Union ministry of textiles, is almost at par with, and in some cases even higher than, the fees charged by some of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

On the other hand, pay packages received by IIM and NIFT graduates are not at all comparable.

The average annual pay of an IIM, Ahmedabad, graduate is nearly three-fold the salary of a NIFT graduate.

The average pay of a NIFT passout is around Rs 2.50 lakh per annum, while the average salary received by an IIM-A graduate is Rs 6.50 lakh per annum.

Apart from paying around Rs 35,000 as academic fees and Rs 25,000 as hostel fees per semester, students of NIFT have to pay for stationery, fabrics and other materials.

Overall, on an average, a NIFT student spends around Rs 1.50 lakh per year on a course, which is higher than the expenditure incurred by students of most of the IIMs in the country. The under-graduate (UG) programme is spread over four years, while the post-graduate (PG) programme is for two years.

Thus, a NIFT student in the UG programme ends up spending over Rs four lakh for a NIFT diploma, while a student in the PG programme spends around Rs three lakh.

Currently, the total expenses on tuition, room rent, teaching materials, computer facilities, and other fees at IIM, Kolkata, amounts to Rs 1.27 lakh per year, while the yearly expenses at IIM, Indore, is about Rs 1.48 lakh.

IIM, Kozhikode, charges Rs one lakh on tuition, library, computer, teaching material and hostel accommodation for the first year and Rs 1.10 lakh for the second year.

IIM, Lucknow, charges Rs 1.40 lakh a year, which includes expenses on tuition, computer use, room rent and teaching material.

The yearly expenses at IIM, Bangalore, is Rs 1.50 lakh. Only IIM, Ahmedabad, charges more annual fees than NIFT. The common academic fee for the first semester is Rs 33,500.

Apart from this, the current hostel fee including security deposit (refundable), security deposit (non-refundable) electricity charges, service charge and bus fee per semester in Delhi is Rs 17,400 (excluding mess charges).

In Mumbai it is Rs 24,400 (excluding bus fee), Kolkata Rs 13,500 (excluding mess charges and service charge), Chennai Rs 17,800 (excluding electricity, service charge, bus fee), Hyderabad Rs 11,200 (excluding mess charges, electricity, service charge and bus fee), Gandhinagar Rs 21,050 (excluding electricity) and Bangalore Rs 14,500 (excluding mess charges and bus fees). However, NIFT offers limited scholarships to students who are in need of financial assistance.

NIFT now offers a four-year under-graduate and two-year post-graduate programme in design management and technology.

Anil Meena, a final year student of fashion design at NIFT, Gandhinagar, said, "We have to spend around Rs 40,000 extra per year apart from the fees. This amount goes towards purchasing stationery, fabrics and other accessories. Fee reduction in line with IIMs will be a favourable move for the students."

Sandeep Mehar, another final year student, said, "The pay for designers in the Indian garment industry is not good. We get a pay of around Rs 2 lakh per year."