The suggestion to hike fees at IITs by over three times has many students worried.
The suggestion to hike fees at IITs by over three times has many students worried. Currently, B Tech students pay Rs 90,000 but the standing committee of the IIT Council has recommended raising it to Rs 3 lakh per year.
At IIT Madras, B Tech student Tarun says his parents earn just Rs 5 lakh a year. If the Centre accepts the recommendations, the new fee structure would be unaffordable for his family, he says.
"Not only for my family, many can't afford," he added.
C Prabhu, an M Tech student, says, "Three-fold is a very big increase". However, his class mate Govinda Aggarwal differs. "If they add good infrastructure the hike is justifiable," he explains.
The government spends more than Rs 3 lakh a year for every IITian. Presently it is subsidised by 70 per cent. However, most IITians go abroad for employment.
E Jaishankar, a post-graduate student, says "Many go abroad and work hard. But after some years they return and do lots of good for our country."
The panel has proposed interest free loans and aptitude tests, which has been welcomed by many. Govinda says, "Text book knowledge is not everything. There's something called street smartness and this can be identified only in an aptitude test."
Murali, a Dalit IIT alumni, is still worried that the fee hike would kill IIT dreams of backward communities.
"This would be a huge burden on oppressed communities. The government should think twice or thrice. It costs thirty lakhs totally for one student. If an IIT B Tech goes abroad let them pay back thirty lakhs and the money can be ploughed to fund backward communities," he said.
While Education Minister Smriti Irani would take the final call, the fee hike proposal has once again raised the subsidy debate for IITs.