Students enrolling in BTech courses in IITs in the 2025-26 academic session may have to spend more as the Centre has initiated a process to revise tuition fees for undergraduate programmes in tech schools.

Last month, the education ministry set up a committee comprising the directors of IIT Bombay, IIT Indore and IIT Tirupati to study the existing fee structure, total collections from fees, total expenditure borne by the IITs in academic areas and recurring expenses on maintenance of assets.

The committee will recommend the revision in fees based on the study, two officials of two IITs told The Telegraph.

“The committee has been asked to suggest a rational fee structure for the IITs. The recommendations will be placed at the IIT council meeting for consideration,” an
official said.

The government had raised yearly BTech tuition fees in 2013 from ₹50,000 to ₹90,000 and then to ₹2 lakh in 2016. After the IITs, the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are likely to revise their tuition fees. BTech students currently pay ₹1.25 lakh per annum at the NITs.

Around 25 per cent of SC, ST and physically challenged students are exempted from tuition fees in IITs and NITs while students belonging to the economically deprived sections get a concession in fees.

According to an order issued by the then additional secretary in the human resource development ministry in 2016, students with annual parental income of less than ₹1 lakh would be exempted from tuition fees while those with parental income between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh would get up to a two-third concession in tuition fees.

The IITs and NITs have been accused of openly violating the concession policy. During the counselling process, the tech schools ask students to pay seat allocation fees (SAF) and partial admission fees (PAF) irrespective of their social category or parental income.

Atul Kumar, a Dalit student from Uttar Pradesh, had to approach the Supreme Court this year after he was denied admission for failing to pay the SAF owing to a last-minute software glitch.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar National Association of Engineers, an organisation of engineers helping students from the deprived sections with their studies, has written to the Joint Seat Allocation Authority seeking the implementation of a complete fee waiver for SCs and STs as mentioned in the 2016 order. Copies of the letter have also been sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The three-member committee is expected to examine the difficulties faced by students in the payment of SAF and PAF.

A student of IIT Bombay said hostel and mess fees were also hiked along with the
tuition fees.

“The tuition fees may have been waived for SC/ST students, but they will have to pay the increased hostel and mess fees. The government should reconsider the proposal for a tuition fee hike because the move will affect all sections of students directly or indirectly,” the student said.