The Delhi University's English Department has hiked the fees for its PhD programme by 1,100 per cent to Rs 23,968 from Rs 1,932 last year, the teachers claimed on Thursday.

According to them, the fee for PhD programmes in all other streams of Delhi University is around Rs 4400.

The university's SFI has condemned the move, stating that this will impact students' "accessibility to quality higher education".

"We strongly oppose the fee hike in DU. It is a blatant attack on publicly funded education institutions... The move limits opportunities and exacerbates financial stress on students and their families," it said in a statement.

The students' body has alleged that the administration did not provide enough time for students to pay the fees. "The Students were asked to pay the amount through a one-day deadline," it said.

The university teachers and the SFI have demanded a rollback of the fee hike.

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