IIT fee hike worth it if faculty and research get fillip

The government has more than doubled the annual fees for the undergraduate courses at the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakh per annum. While the move is likely to upset the plans students seeking admission to these premier institutions, not many seem to be really complaining about the fee hike.

Consider this: Today, in many parts of the country, parents pay Rs 1 lakh and more for primary school education in leading private schools. So there is a feeling that paying a higher fee for IIT education may still be worth it; provided some of the resources raised are channelised towards faculty training, research and better inputs for students.  

The main challenge is meeting the needs of the meritorious students who cannot afford this fee hike. While the government seems to be offering fee waivers to the schedule caste, schedule tribe and to those from the economically weaker sections, there seems to be no concerted effort to put in place a low-cost funding model or a scholarship mechanism.

Those at the IITs off course seem to see merit in the government's move.

"At the IITs students get value for money and even with this increase in fees, I would think they will still probably end up paying only 25 per cent of what they get in return," says Professor R Nagarajan, dean of international and alumni relations at IIT Madras.

He also points out that with the government's plans for fee waiver for the SC and ST and the financially weak, it is not as if anyone is being left out.  

In fact, many feel this may be a move in the direction of making IITs more independent and less dependent on government for funding.

Already, there is a gap between the funds made available by the government and student needs, which many IITs try to bridge by supplementing the funds from other sources such as philanthropic funds and from alumni.