HRD defers decision on hiking MTech tuition fee at IITs

The minutes state that the agenda item on reform of MTech programmes will be “further discussed in the next meeting of the IIT Council”.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. (File Photo)

The HRD Ministry has held off the decision to increase the tuition fee for MTech programmes at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The development comes in the backdrop of the protests at JNU against a substantial hike in hostel fee.

The government finalised minutes of the IIT Council meeting, held on September 27, on Tuesday. The minutes state that the agenda item on reform of MTech programmes will be “further discussed in the next meeting of the IIT Council”. A press release from HRD Ministry on September 27 stated that the council had approved the recommendation for the IITs to charge MTech students the same fee as the BTech programme. In other words, IITs, over the next three years, would increase tuition fee for new MTech students from the current average of Rs 30,000 a year to Rs 2 lakh per annum.

“The JNU fee hike issue and the protests seem to have forced a rethink,” said an IIT director.

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The ministry also deferred the decision on adopting the tenure track system. On September 27, the 23 IITs had agreed to grant tenure to assistant professors five years after their recruitment. This decision marked a significant shift from the current practice across most centrally funded institutions, where fresh faculty recruits are given permanent appointments as assistant professors after a year. They cannot be fired after that.

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Ministry cites dropouts

Although the student community had opposed the decision at that time, the HRD Ministry had justified fee hike on the ground that it would discourage “non-serious students” who join an IIT only to leave the programme midway after finding a job. “This dropout in the middle of the programme leads to wastage of coveted seats on the one hand and denies the opportunity to other serious and meritorious students...” the government statement read.

Under the tenure track system, an assistant professor is hired on a five-year contract. Her performance is first reviewed internally three years from the date of joining and then an external committee after five-and-a-half years. Depending on the evaluation, the assistant professor will either be granted tenure (and associate professorship) or asked to leave.

Read | Has MTech fee hike led to a decline in GATE 2020 registrations?

According to ministry sources, this decision was deferred because of apprehensions expressed by the IIT faculty. “There are many challenges in our system that make it difficult for new teachers to perform to the best of their abilities. For starters, we expect them to get research grants from the Department of Science and Technology and other agencies which take time to release funds,” said the above quoted IIT director.

Ritika Chopra

Ritika Chopra, an award-winning journalist with over 17 years of experience, serves as the Chief of the National Bureau (Govt) and National Education Editor at The Indian Express in New Delhi. In her current role, she oversees the newspaper's coverage of government policies and education. Ritika closely tracks the Union Government, focusing on the politically sensitive Election Commission of India and the Education Ministry, and has authored investigative stories that have prompted government responses. Ritika joined The Indian Express in 2015. Previously, she was part of the political bureau at The Economic Times, India’s largest financial daily. Her journalism career began in Kolkata, her birthplace, with the Hindustan Times in 2006 as an intern, before moving to Delhi in 2007. Since then, she has been reporting from the capital on politics, education, social sectors, and the Election Commission of India. ... Read More

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Nizamuddin went to the US in December 2015 for a Master’s course in Computer Science, which he completed from Florida Institute of Technology in 2017. He completed his B.Tech in ECE from Jayaprakash Narayan College of Engineering, Mahbubnagar.

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