Karnataka to hike engineering, architecture fees in private unaided colleges by 10%

The management of private professional colleges had demanded a 15 per cent increase in fees but later agreed to a 10 per cent hike.

The association had expressed concerns that the Congress government soon after coming to power in the state in 2023 had reduced the fees by 3 per cent and then allowed to increase the fees only by 7 per cent. However, the earlier BJP government had increased the fees by 10 per cent and had assured a 10 per cent increase every year from the 2022-23 academic year, the association pointed out.

Private management associations said that the reduction in the hike okayed by the previous government had led to significant financial burden on them and they were finding it difficult to pay salaries and come up with money for maintenance.

In the academic year 2022-23, the engineering course fee in government and aided engineering colleges was Rs 38,200 per semester. It was Rs 91,796 annually in unaided colleges, including minority (Type-1) colleges. In unaided colleges, including minority (Type-2) colleges, it was Rs 98,984 and in deemed and private universities it was Rs 91,796.

With the 7 per cent hike last year, the fee was Rs 96,574 for CET seats at private colleges (Type 1) and Rs 1,04,265 at (Type 2) colleges. The colleges are free to choose their category depending upon the infrastructure.