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Law students grappling with fee increase

Ananya Dutta

KOLKATA: Students of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) here are finding it difficult to cope with the recent fee hike announced by the institute.

“The fee has shot up from Rs. 79,500 last year to Rs. 1,23,000. The revised fee is far stiffer for new entrants to the university, who will have to pay Rs. 1,83,000 this year,” said a third-year student. “While it may seem comparable to the cost of education at the Indian Institutes of Management, over a period of five years it becomes a much larger amount.”

The WBNUJS is one of the 12 national law universities in the country and ranked among the top three. Students are concerned that the hike may affect the quality of intake in the institute.

Not the only one

It is not the only university to have hiked the fees. According to announcements on the CLAT website, two other universities — the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and the National Law Institute University — have also raised their fees.

“After the hike, I will have to pay an additional Rs. 90,000 for completing my education. The bank has declined my request to extend my educational loan,” said a fourth-year student at WBNUJS.

“It will in effect make the quality education that the institute provides hard to afford for middle class students, let alone those who are financially weak,” he added. University authorities cite rising costs and ensuring the standard of education as the reasons for the increase in fees.

“Since its inception in 1999, the university has not increased the fees. We have tried not to burden the students with additional fees, but this time it had to be done,” said Prof. D Mukhopadhyay, Registrar of the University.

The executive council deliberated for six months to finalise this fee, he said adding that the university was self-financed and had not received grants from either the West Bengal government or the University Grants Commission. Students and guardians feel that alternative sources of funds must be tapped.

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