As many as 20 of the 45 central universities raised their undergraduate tuition fees for 2022-23, the Centre has told Parliament, with Allahabad University leading the charge with a nearly fourfold hike.

The fee hikes come amid pressure from the Centre on the universities to generate income by themselves, at a time the Narendra Modi government has been looking to cut its expenditure on higher education and pushing for increased privatisation of the sector.

Campuses have witnessed student agitations in recent months against the fee hikes. At Allahabad University, students who have been on a relay strike for months on various issues have included a rollback of the fee hike in their list of demands.

According to a written reply from education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the 20 universities that have increased their fees include Delhi University, Hyderabad University, Visva-Bharati, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Allahabad University, Banaras Hindu University, Central Sanskrit University and the Central Universities in Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

The question had been asked by Congress member Imran Pratapgarhi.

At Allahabad University, the fee for undergraduate courses increased from Rs 1,125 a year in 2021-22 to Rs 4,151 in 2022-23, and from Rs 1,962 to Rs 5,151 for postgraduate courses.

Ajay Yadav “Samrat”, an activist who was till recently an Allahabad University student, said a group of students sat on dharna at the students’ union office every day.

Students recently held protests at various colleges affiliated to Delhi University, including Satyawati College, against the fee hike.