NEW DELHI: Course fees in many central universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University and Banaras Hindu University, among many others, is set to increase substantially from 2019.
Sources in the Union Human Resources Development Ministry said these varsities had entered into an agreement with the University Grants Commission and the ministry to raise internal revenues under the autonomy scheme.
The development comes even as the government had earlier this year insisted that greater autonomy granted to these institutions would not result in unrestrained tuition fees.
In March, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had categorically said that varsities being granted greater autonomy to function in a better way would not mean that it was the start of any “privatisation of higher education”.
Now, however, the ministry is insistent that the central universities sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on managing finances, which urges these institutions to ensure a gradual annual increase in fees for various courses and facilities.The ministry, which sent out the MoU last year, has now warned the universities which are yet to sign it that they could lose out on annual grants.
Sources said the MoU had already been signed by many central universities such as the Vishwa Bharti University, Hyderabad Central University, Dharmshila University and Aligarh Muslim University, apart from JNU and BHU. But Delhi University has expressed its inability to do that anytime soon.
Sources said these universities had already set in motion the process to hike fees. There is speculation that JNU and Hyderabad University are contemplating fees hike of around 20 per cent every two years. The ministry had set a deadline of June 2018 for these universities. Officials said a review meeting in this regard was held last week.