IIT Council Claims Hike In Tuition Fees Of UG Prgm

The IIT Council (Indian Institute of Technology) committee which is about to meet up in a meeting on the 5th of November, 2012 is all expected to claim the raise in tuition fees for Under Graduate Programmes from Rs.50,000 to 90,000.

Yet, the development comes as an empowered task force is still considering the details for implementation of the Kakodkar Committee which has recommended last year a steep hike of Rs.2 to 2.5 lakh per annum from the existing Rs.50,000.

According to the sources, the Kakodkar Committee constitutes by the Council of IIT's had suggested the four-fold increase in tuition fee to help IIT's attain financial independence. As the task force is in the process of deliberation, the proposal for raising the fee by Rs.40,000 per annum would be taken up by the directors as an "Interim Measure".

Sources also revealed that, the IIT Council had given in principle approval to the recommendation to be implemented from 2013, with the then HRD Minister stating that the extra burden would be "Paid Back" by students once they are employed. While the empowered task force is deliberating the issue, the group of directors of IIT's, in the meantime at a meeting in February considering the proposal for tuition fee hike, the matter of which would come before the standing committee on 5th of November.

However, the meet is also expected to take up the issue of periodic peer review of IIT's as per the recommendation of the Kakodkar Committee. The committee had stated that the government, through the IIT Council, exercise its prerogative over the IIT by Invoking the power of the Visitor every 5 years so that the achievements and governance of the IIT's is reviewed by the Committee.