IIT Guwahati students stage protest against 'exorbitant' fee hike
What's the story
Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have launched massive protests against what they call an "exorbitant" fee hike. The protests started on Tuesday, with hundreds of research scholars and MTech students gathering on campus. They demanded a rollback of the increased fees, which affected PhD, BTech, and MTech courses. The protests were sparked by a failure of the administration to stick to an agreement reached during an open house session on July 17.
Unfulfilled promises
Agreement reached during open house session on July 17
The session was attended by the IIT-G Director and other senior officials. A PhD scholar, who wished to remain anonymous, told NDTV, "The administration said that they are there to listen to us, but it appears that they were there to buy time." When research scholars approached their respective departmental officers on Tuesday, they were allegedly barred from enrolling for the semester due to a failure to pay the semester registration fee. This sparked protests, sources told NDTV.
Fee increase
Fee for PhD students increased by over ₹10,000
The channel reported that the fee for PhD students has increased from ₹34,800 in January-May 2025 to ₹45,700 for the July-November semester. Part-time scholars also saw a steep rise in their fees from ₹2,500 to ₹25,000 per semester. The incoming students will have to pay a total of ₹92,000, with each semester costing around ₹57,000.
Fee grievances
Other fees that have doubled
The mess fee has also increased from ₹12,000 in 2019-20 to ₹22,000 now, despite a decline in food quality, students allege. Other fees that have doubled include Gymkhana (from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000), medical (from ₹100 to ₹500), hostel rent (from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000), and registration/enrollment (from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000). There are also allegations of a new 'fest fee' of ₹1,300 per student per semester for IIT Guwahati's annual fest.
Unaddressed concerns
BTech students expected to join protests soon
Despite the ongoing protests, IIT Guwahati has not yet issued an official statement addressing the allegations or concerns raised by students. The situation continues to escalate as BTech students are expected to join the protests on Wednesday, July 23. The student body is demanding immediate action from the administration regarding their grievances over increased fees and poor communication.