IIM-A fee hike has CAT candidates worried

If the global meltdown and its impact on placements was not enough, the recent fee hike by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has only added to the woes of those aspiring to study at the country’s premier institutes.

After IIM-Calcutta hiked its fees from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for the two-year Post Graduate Programme (PGP), IIM-Ahmedabad followed suit with an increase of Rs 1 lakh for two years. While the institute says the move will not have much of an impact on students, IIM aspirants are worried.

“The fee hike will definitely tell on our pockets. We will have to apply for larger amounts of loans now. Also, we are unsure whether we will be able to avail any of the waivers. It is only that since other private institutes are also increasing their fee, we can still go for brand IIM,” said Shikha Khari, who will be taking the Common Admission Test (CAT) in November this year.
 

FEES WOES

* IIM-A increases fee from Rs 11.5 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh

* IIM-C hikes fee from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for the two-year PGP

* IIM-L is set to hike fees in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for the two-year course

* IIM-I, K, B are set to discuss fee hike issue in their upcoming board meetings

Last year, IIM-A had more than doubled its fees from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 11.5 lakh. Unlike the 2008-10 batch, which was required to pay Rs 5.5 lakh in the first year and Rs 6 lakh in the second year (total of Rs 11.5 lakh), the incoming batch of 2009-11 will be spending Rs 6 lakh for the first year and Rs 6.5 lakh for the second year, making it a total of Rs 12.5 lakh for the two-year course.

Samir Barua, director of IIM-A, feels the hike should be taken into consideration objectively. “The board has made a decision for a marginal fee hike of Rs 50,000 for 2010-11, keeping in mind the economic situation when the batch graduates. Those who think that the raise is not justified are not considering that when the batch of 2009-11 will pass out, they will be in a better economic situation.

Besides, most students do not have to pay the full fees. For instance, last year, 21 out of about 257 students were waived from paying full fees. Moreover, this year we are planning to implement 13 per cent other backward class (OBC) quota. This should only encourage more students,” Barua said.

Some students have taken a more liberal view with regard to the fee hike. “The fee hike may seem to be an additional burden as of now, but by the time I graduate in 2012, the recession will be over and I will be able to earn considerable return on my investments. In that sense, it has not deterred my aspirations of studying at IIM-A,” said Rahul Jain, another IIM aspirant.

Tejas Dave, who has interviewed at IIM-Bangalore, Lucknow and Shillong, feels the fee hike is not justified unless it is put to good use. “It is certainly going to be difficult to pay such a huge amount but if the authorities put the money to facilitate better infrastructure and faculty, it would be worth it.”

Other IIMs are not looking at fresh fee hikes. IIM-C, for instance, had nearly doubled its fee for the two-year PGP to Rs 9 lakh from Rs 5 lakh. “We are not looking at any fresh fee hike. The fee hike is aimed at recovering a deficit of around Rs 1.5 lakh incurred per student per annum, salary hikes for faculty in keeping with recent pay revisions, and to combat rising costs of attracting quality faculty, students and researchers to the institute,” said Dinesh Varma, chief administrative officer of IIM-C.

Simultaneously, IIM-C is increasing its need-based scholarships fund and stipend for research fellowships, in an attempt to attract more quality students and faculty. The fee hike for the two-year post-graduate students will also be used towards this effect. The batch of 2009-11 would have to shell out Rs 9 lakh for two years (Rs 4 lakh in first year and Rs 5 lakh in second year).

The ongoing 2008-10 batch, which will be promoted to second year in 2009, will have to pay Rs 4 lakh for the second year. So in all, they will pay Rs 7 lakh for two years (Rs 3 lakh in first year and Rs 4 lakh in second year).

Till last year, the two-year PGP students at IIM-C paid Rs 5 lakh (Rs 3 lakh for first year and Rs 2 lakh for second year).

In associate with Vinay Umarji & Pradipta Mukherjee.