NEW DELHI: Country’s premier technology and IT institutes--Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes for Information Technology--have decided not to introduce any fee hike for students in the upcoming academic session in view of the economic slowdown spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision comes following a nudge by the Union Human Resources Development Ministry, sources said.
While a marginal hike in fee was expected in IITs, IIITs were set to hike the fee by 10-20 per cent. There are 23 IITs in the country while the number of IIITs stands at 24--but barring five, that are funded and managed by the HRD ministry, the rest have been established on public-private partnership mode.
“Most of the IIITs--where total fee in an academic session can be as high as Rs 2-3 lakh per annum--were to hike the fee but have now agreed to put the decision on hold following our advise,” a source in the higher education department of the HRD ministry said.
The admission process to these institutions is already set to be disrupted as the entry examinations are not being held on time due to the spread of the infectious disease.
The academic calendar in these institutions is also likely to be hampered greatly in view of the prevailing situation.