IIT council approves 200% fee hike
New Delhi, Mar 18: The standing committee of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has approved a proposal for three-fold hike in annual fees of IITs.
If implemented the annual fees of IITs will go up from current Rs 90,000 to Rs3 lakh. Though a final decision would require the nod of HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
Another key recommendation the Standing Committee of IIT Council (SCIC) made was that the proposed new entrance examination designed to test the aptitude conducted by a National Authority of Test (NAT) would be held from 2017 onwards.
Final decision in this regard too rests with Irani, it is learnt.
Sources told PTI that the SCIC, a body comprising IIT directors and senior officials, in a meeting adopted the report presented earlier by a sub-committee headed by IIT Bombay Director Devang Khakhar which had suggested hiking fees to Rs 3 lakh and also recommended multiple sources of financing for the IITs.
"However,
the
sub-committee
has
been
again
asked
to
consider
if
this
fee
hike
should
also
be
applied
to
students
studying
at
Post-Graduate
level
as
they
are
studying
on
a
fellowship
basis,"
a
source
said.
If
the
recommendations
of
the
SCIC
are
accepted,
even
the
fees
of
foreign
students
would
be
raised
from
the
current
annual
USD
4000
to
USD
10,000,
they
added.
However, the committee has also emphasised that every student should be provided educational loans at an interest- free basis and without collateral under the Vidyalakshmi scheme, sources said.
Army lauds gesture by IIT-B students
Another nod that the committee is learnt to have given is regarding a proposal to hold IIT admission tests in eight countries abroad to attract the best of foreign students.
Sources said the panel also approved the recommendations of a report prepared by a committee of eminent persons headed by Ashok Mishra for holding an aptitude test conducted by a National Testing Service, on the basis of which candidates will be shortlisted for taking JEE (Advanced) for entry to IITs.
However, the committee has recommended that the test should be conducted from next year onwards and not this year. The Ashok Mishra committee had focused on reducing the dependence on coaching institutions by IIT aspirants.
It is desired by the committee that coaching by best quality teachers for such exams should be provided through online platforms by the government, reducing the need that candidates may feel for private tuitions, a source said.
OneIndia News (With agency inputs)