IIM-L rules out fee hike

Lucknow, Apr 3 (UNI) Undeterred by upward fee revisions by the sister Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), IIM Lucknow (IIM-L) today ruled out any immediate fee hike and posted the issue to its next board meeting scheduled in June.

IIM-L Director Prof Devi Singh told UNI that the last board meeting held in March had not decided upon any upward revision of annual fee.

''Since, board meetings cannot be held every month, any decision can be taken in the next meeting only,'' he asserted.

Asked if fee hike was on the IIM-L agenda, he said, ''Although, the next board meeting agenda is still not fixed, we will take an 'appropriate decision' in this regard.'' However, Prof Singh said a decision to maintain uniformity in the fee structures was taken at the meeting of all the IIMs' directors.

''It was meant to censure major differences between the fee charged by all the six IIMs.'' At present, IIM-L post graduate programme (PGP) and PGP II fee stands at Rs 1.36 lakh and Rs 1.45 lakh per annum respectively.

IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Kolkata IIM Kozhikode and IIM Indore have already announced raise in their annual fee.

Taking a cue from bigger IIMs, IIM-K today announced a steep 20 and 22 per cent hike in the annual fee for the academic year beginning June 2006.

As per revised structure, the annual fee for the first academic year at IIM-K has been increased from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh and from Rs 1.35 lakh to Rs 1.65 lakh for the second year.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi criticised the tuition fee hike effected in the IIMs saying it would increase commercialisation of education.

''The fee hike will adversely affect poor students. The youth will be influenced by loan-culture,'' he told reporters at Indore last night.

Fees at the IIMs had become a contentious issue in 2004 when the then HRD Minister Mr Joshi unilaterally announced the fee reduction to Rs 30,000 per annum across board.

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