Among top 10 central universities, JNU hostel fee highest after hike

Contrary to common perception, JNU’s old hostel fee structure was not the lowest among the country’s best CUs. Visva-Bharati University, HCU, AMU, NEHU and Pondicherry University charged less, if not the same (see chart).

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All CUs, except for DU, have more or less uniform fee structure for all its hostels. DU has 20 different hostels, with each of them charging different fees in the range of Rs 5,500 to Rs 55,500 approximately. So barring a few DU hostels, JNU, after the fee hike, will charge the most from hostelers.

JNU students have been protesting against the first hike in the university’s hostel fee in four decades. The main point of protest is the introduction of service charges — for maintenance, mess workers, cook and sanitation — which were so far not included in the hostel fee.

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Under the new hostel charges, students have to pay an approximate service charge of Rs 1,700 per month. Rent for a single room has been increased from Rs 20 per month to Rs 600 per month, and for a double-sharing room from Rs 10 per month to Rs 300 per month.

Students will also have to pay utility charges (electricity and water), which they did not have to so far. Following large-scale protests by students, JNU reviewed the fee structure but reserved the bulk of changes for students falling under the ‘below poverty line’ category.