Mumbai University hikes fees for several courses after 17 years, colleges welcome move

Mumbai University officials said colleges and departments have been struggling to run various courses with the existing fee structure.

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According to the university, the fee hike proposal had been pending for years due to the complexity of the decision. (Source: File)

Mumbai University recently hiked the fees for various courses offered by its departments and affiliated colleges before admissions. This revision comes after a gap of 17 years since the last hike in 2008.

According to the university, the fee hike proposal had been pending for years due to the complexity of the decision. The final resolution was passed in a meeting of the Academic Council last year, and colleges were notified via circulars before the academic year 2025-26 admission process began.

Some courses, especially those which are traditional and aided ones, have witnessed marginal fee hikes: from Rs 3,970 to Rs 4,501 for Bachelor of Arts (BA), from Rs 5,170 to Rs 5,701 for Bachelor of Science (BSc), and from Rs 3,970 to Rs 4,501 for Bachelor of Commerce (BCom).

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However, a few other popular courses, particularly those from the category of professional courses, have seen a more than marginal fee hike. For example, the Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) fee is increased to Rs 20,451 from Rs 12,030 and the Bachelor of Accounting and Finance (BAF) fee is raised to Rs 20,251 from Rs 12,430. International students admitted to Mumbai University will be charged five times.

Highlighting that the fee hike is reasonable, an official from the university said, “Colleges and departments have been struggling to run various courses with the existing fee structure due to rising costs of everything. Payment of teachers has been the most challenging. There has been no such fee revision for the 17 years, making it justified to review the existing fee structure.”

While there is no outcry over fee hikes yet, colleges in the city, on the other hand, have urged that varsity should not wait so long to revise fees.

The principal of a college said, “Wait of 17 years is very long to revise fees of various courses. The government only provides salary grants for teachers appointed to approved posts. With sizable vacancies in the posts of teachers, colleges have to appoint teachers to run the courses. With the government not providing non-salary grants, it becomes very difficult for colleges to run the courses.”

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The principal of another college said, “Considering the inflation rate, Mumbai University should rather look at the revision of fees every 2-3 years.”