IIT Fee hike

IIT Fee hike


The fee hike by the IITs came in for a wide discussion in the media. The yawning gap between the demand for funds and availability to keep these quality institions in prime shape can be met only by pumping additional funds. The fee structure was set years ago and the allround expendiiture levels have gone up considerably. The staff salaries are raised periodically and other expenses too have gone up. Such institutions need to be kept updated by suitable infrastructure. It may be said that the government is spending something like Rs 750 crores annually to maintain the IITs and a further allocation may not be feasible. At the same time Indian students are reported to be spending $13 billion annually in pursuit of higher education abroad. and the banks are liberal to give loans to such students.Many students from the upper income brackets can afford proposed fee hike It is agreed that the poor and meritorious students should not be priced out by the fee hike and the solution lies in giving them suitable scholarships and soft loans.This procedure may enable releasing a good amount to set up primary education facilities. Taking all these factors into consideration, the IIT fee hike seems justifiable.

A.R.K.Pillai
Mumbai 4-4-08 Email ID idfark@gmail.com