The board of governors of the National Institute of Technology - Calicut (NIT-C) has decided to allow students to remit their tuition fee in two instalments for the coming semester beginning September 2.
Dr. P.S. Sathidevi, Director in Charge, NIT-C, said the hostel fee for the semester had been completely waived. Also, needy students will be offered financial support through Students Welfare Fund, Parent Teachers Association, and alumni as done in previous years.
The normal tuition fee for B.Tech/B.Arch per semester is ₹66,830 for general category candidates whose family income is above ₹5 lakh per annum; ₹25,165 for those with income between ₹1 and ₹5 lakh. This includes a miscellaneous fee of ₹4,330.
Tuition fee has been waived for students whose annual family income is below ₹1 lakh and SC/ST students. The fee for M.Tech/M.Plan/MCA/MBA for general students is ₹39,555. Hostel fee is ₹4,250 per month.
At the same time, the tuition fee for general category students at the Indian Institute of Technology-Palakkad is ₹1.08 lakh per semester. Here too, hostel fee amounting to ₹26,000 per semester has been waived.
Prof. Sathidevi said the concerns of the students had been communicated to the Ministry of Education. NITs and IITs follow directives from the Ministry in this regard.
At present, over 3,000 students are pursuing graduate programmes, while another 600 are undergoing postgraduate courses at NIT-C. The fresh batch is yet to commence.
However, the Students Affairs Council had said that many students had conveyed their difficulty in paying fees, and several would not attend the coming semester owing to the economic situation in the wake of the COVID-19 spread.
Students Welfare dean Madhu Kumar said no student would be deprived of education because of financial issues. “Various mechanisms are in place to help needy students. Students can seek assistance through the faculty advisor and heads of departments,” he added.
