Delhi University faced severe criticism from both teachers and students for an ‘unprecedented’ surge in the fees of its PhD courses. The English Department, in particular, experienced an exorbitant increase, with fees rising by over 12,00%, surging from Rs 1,932 to a staggering Rs 23,968 for the PhD programme, as noted by multiple educators.
According to a teacher, the students were informed of this fee hike quite belatedly and this crucial information was conspicuously absent from the Bulletin. Regrettably, there has been no immediate response from the university administration. In the meantime, the left-affiliated student group, SFI Delhi University, vehemently condemned the fee hike in the English department.
The SFI Delhi University expressed their strong opposition to the fee hike, asserting that escalating educational costs impose a heavy burden on students and impede access to quality higher education. They characterised this move as a direct assault on publicly funded education, one that restricts opportunities and exacerbates financial strain on students and their families. They insisted that education should be considered a right, not a privilege and urged for equitable and affordable education for all, according to the media reports.
In a Facebook post, Abha Dev Habib, an assistant professor of Physics at Miranda House, highlighted the unprecedented nature of the fee hike in the Department of English at Delhi University. She considered the hike, exceeding 12,00%, as ‘unacceptable and unfortunate.’ She argued that such an inflated increase is unjustifiable and could have detrimental effects on diversity and student access. Scholarships and concessions, in her view, cannot serve as a substitute for universally affordable fees.
Furthermore, Habib noted that while fees for PhD programmes in other departments have also doubled, the English Department’s fee hike stands out as a more than tenfold increase. She called for an immediate rollback of the fee hike, stating that such an attack on educational access and diversity goes against the principles of the Indian constitution and should not be permitted to succeed. She emphasised that students, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents will unite in their efforts to reverse this fee hike.
With inputs from ANI.