The government has put on hold a proposal to hike the annual tuition fee of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the proposal to review the current double-tiered admission system.
At a meeting of the IIT Council, the apex decision making body, chaired by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday, the Council proposed a funding mechanism for IITs that would “appreciably enhance” government investments for building world-class infrastructure, but no decision was taken on whether this will be done through a tuition fee hike.
In a statement issued by the HRD Ministry, the issue of fee hike has been sidestepped; but it has been pointed out that a Committee of Directors has been mandated to examine ways to enhance loans to students, and maintain and enhance scholarships to needy students, especially those from the SC/ST/economically weaker sections.
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“The Council suggested that freeships should be provided for all physically handicapped students,” the statement said.
A committee headed by scientist Anil Kakodkar had suggested raising the fee from the current Rs. 90,000 a year to Rs. 2.25 lakh, citing heavy subsidies on the cost of education for an IIT student.
The National Institutes of Technology Council had recently adopted a funding pattern that would allow the government to enhance investments in capital assets, labs, equipment and research, leaving the bulk of running expenses to be recovered through student fee. It has said the increased fee would be met by student loans at zero per cent interest.
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The Ministry said a decision to alter the current system of admissions through a two-stage entrance test will be taken after an expert group submits its recommendations by November.