The Pulse - Fee Rationalisation

Over the last few weeks, we've all been hearing and seeing in news about how students of the Jawaharlal University in Delhi have been at loggerheads with the varsity's administration... The reason being - a hike in fees -which the students say is a steep one and unaffordable to a significant number of students from the marginalised families enrolled in different courses at the university... The major bone of contention is the hike in hostel fees. The JNU stir over fee hike has sprung open the debate about fee rationalisation in public institutions across the country...Questions are also being raised over the huge subsidies being granted to certain universities in the name of quality education and research....But at the same time, there's also a strong argument that holds ground, for the thousands of students from marginalised sections who come to JNU from states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, etc. that subsidised higher education provides a window of opportunity and empowerment to them. In that context, what must be the solution to this problem? Should the government strengthen these state-funded institutes by way of more and more subsidies or should universities find other means of sustaining themselves such as donations, funds and endowments etc.

GUEST - Heeraman Tiwari, Dean, Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship, JNU
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Prof. Anu Singh Lather, Vice Chancellor, Ambedkar University, Delhi Dr. Vikram Singh, Pro Chancellor, Noida International University

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