Citing inflationary pressure and rising operational costs as the reason behind the move, Delhi University colleges are preparing to hike fees by 2-7 percent this academic season.
The first such move comes from St.Stephens College. While humanities courses at the college will now cost Rs. 23,660 per annum, a Rs. 1,225 hike, the fee for the science courses has been hike by Rs. 1,345 to Rs 25,655. Students enrolling for mathematics will have to Rs. 24,020 per annum. Apart from tuition fee, the college has also hiked its hostel fee from Rs 37,400 per annum to Rs 44,500.
Colleges of Delhi University charge a highly subsidised fee from students as they are funded either by the Central or Delhi State government. Some colleges are also funded by organisations such as the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
The colleges that are following suit are Maharaja Agrasen College, Bharati College, Hindu College and Ramjas College. Dr.Promodini Verma, Principal of Bharati College, spoke to DU Beat. “The language and medical courses we teach are funded neither by DU nor UGC, thus we are hiking their fees by Rs.1000 and Rs.100 respectively to cope with increasing costs. Bharati College is still one of the most inexpensive colleges in DU as our fees do not cross Rs.10,000 p.a. for any course,” she said.
Meanwhile, the issue is still being debated upon at Sri Venkateswara College. The colleges that are expected to not hike fee are SRCC, Dyal Singh College and Daulat Ram College. Dr. IS Bakshi, Principal of Dyal Singh College, explained that the college did not need to hike fees immediately although a decision in this regard could be taken in the future.
Colleges are careful in citing reasons and only marginally raising fees since the University has been witness to numerous protests by student bodies related to inadequate infrastructure and high canteen food rates among others.
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