Denying that its administration had used force or involved the police in any manner in dealing with students protesting the recent fee hike, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay) said here on Sunday that the increased fees “do not impact the current students” and "are very nominal”.
In a detailed statement issued here on Sunday, the IIT-B said: “We have not used force or involved the police in any manner, contrary to claims by some students. Police were present as a routine security measure due to the reunion convocation of earlier batches which involved around 2,200 graduated students visiting campus, but had absolutely no interaction with the protesting students”.
Alluding to the fee hike announced by it, the IIT-B said: “Tuition fees for current PhD students is Rs 2,500 per semester, and Rs 5,000 per semester for new students, while for new MTech students, it increased from Rs 5,000 per semester (after partial tuition fee waiver) to Rs 30,000 per semester. It may be seen that even these increased fees (which do not impact current students) are very nominal”.
“The total amount that students pay for hostel stay was around Rs 2000 per month earlier, which has increased now to around Rs 2700 per month. This includes not only room rent, electricity and water charges but also medical fees. It may also be compared with the PhD stipend of between Rs 31,000 to 34,000 per month, and the MTech stipend of Rs 12,400 per month,” the IIT-B said.
Maintaining that it was “cognizant” of the fact that several of our students have economic challenges at home, the IIT-B said: “We are fully supportive of such students. Following the open house (held on July 26), IIT Bombay has taken several steps to address student concerns. Four student members from the elected student body have been added as permanent invitees to the fee committee, It was decided to reduce the Hostel Amenities Fund amount from the Semester Mess Advance paid to the hostels.
“Students who have economic difficulties (including those whose stipends are delayed by the sponsoring agencies) will be provided with a way to request and get a deferral of fees. IIT will work on scholarships for Masters (MTech etc) students with financial difficulties, along the lines of scholarships for UG students. Students have been allowed to pay the semester mess advance in two installments to avoid a large burden at the start of the semester,” the IIT-B SAID.
According to IIT-B, every needy student was provided financial support for a laptop and data connection, during the Covid-19 period, with support from its alumni. “IIT Bombay will continue to attend to the needs of the economically disadvantaged group of students. While no one enjoys paying more than what they used to be charged before, it is also an imperative that an institute continues to adjust its charges accordingly to stay alive and grow, to serve the students of today and tomorrow equally well,” the IIT-B said.
“The majority of our students understand the need, and realize that the government cannot keep subsidizing them beyond a point. IIT Bombay is trying to convince the remaining few students to stop the stir by talking with them,” IIT-B said.
At an open house with the students held on July 26, IIT-B had explained the reasons behind the fee hike, and got inputs from students on any issues. “The bulk of IIT Bombay's funding comes from the government, with fees being only 8% of our revenue. While tuition fees can never cover our overall costs, it is the expectation that the hostel related fees will at least be comparable to the hostel related expenses incurred”.
“These operational expenses are well above the hostel fees we were collecting earlier, and even with the increased fees, the operational expenses are still more than the fees collected. And this is not even counting the capital cost of construction of hostels,” the IIT-B added.