Sisodia seeks discussion on IIT fee hike

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday criticised the fee hike in IITs and said that there should have been proper discussion by the academicians and students before taking the final decision.

"There should be a discussion of the stakeholders on fee hike. It is needed to deliberate on whether the fee should be increased. All of a sudden, the fee is hiked which is not good," he said while unveiling the vision and plan of school education for the academic session 2016-17 at Thyagaraj Stadium herei.

"I believe in consulting academicians and students before taking such decisions," said Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio in the Aam Aadmi Party government.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) on Thursday hiked the annual fees for undergraduate courses from Rs.90,000 to Rs.2 lakh.

The government took the fee hike decision after accepting the recommendations of the Anil Kakodkar committee appointed in 2010 on increasing the autonomy of IITs.

The IITs have seen an eightfold hike in fees in the last six years. The last fee hike to Rs.90,000 was effected in 2013.