IITs and IIITs will not hike the tuition fees for any course for upcoming academic year, according to education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank". The decision regarding the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has been taken after consultation with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the IIT Council and directors of the institutes. The decision has been taken keeping in view of the hardships students are facing due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
In case of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), according to the minister, it has been decided that for those which are centraly-funded, the standard 10-per cent hike in the tuition fee for undergraduate programmes will not be implemented this year.
"After consultation with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the IIT Council and directors of IITs, it has been decided that these institutes will not increase the tuition fee for academic year 2020-21 for any course," news agency PTI quoted the minister as saying.
"In case of the IIITs, it has been decided that for those which are centraly-funded, the standard 10-per cent hike in the tuition fee for undergraduate programmes will not be implemented this year. I have also requested them not to increase the fee for other courses.
"On similar lines, I have requested the IIITs run in the public-private partnership mode not to increase the tuition fee for the coming academic year for any of their courses," he added.
IIT Delhi.
According to reports, a BTech student pays an annual fee of Rs 2 lakh in IITs, India's premier technological and engineering institutes.
The highly contagious coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over 2.5 million people worldwide, has had a massive impact on the global economy and the contagion has also not spared the graduates of India's premier institutes - like IITs and IIMs - where high-paying jobs are practically guaranteed after graduation.
Jobs offered to six students of IIT Madras have been revoked by companies due to the pandemic, but the institute - ranked number one under the Education Ministry's overall institutions category and engineering institutions category - says there have been no cancellations of overseas job offers.
The IITs, earlier this month, had announced that they will hold special placement drives for those students whose job offers got cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"I have also asked all IIT directors to hold special placement drives for the students affected by cancelled job offers. The students to whom the jobs were offered during the placement drive are among the country''s brightest minds and can help recruiters in times of crisis," the HRD minister said then.
(With PTI Inputs)
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