Govt to slash IIM fees 80% to Rs 20,000/yr

The Government is believed to be close to slashing the tuition fee for the Indian Institutes of Management by 80%.  This will bring down the annual tuition fee at the IIMs from Rs 1.5 lakh at present to Rs 20,000.  Sources say the ministry of human resource development is expected to issue and order to this effect to the IIMS later this week.  The HRD ministry is also proposing to amend the AICTE Act, which will give AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) the authority to regulate B-school fees, as it does in the case of engineering colleges.  The logic behind this move is to ensure a balance in the fees charged by b-schools across the country.

According to the recommendation of the UR Rao Committee, fees for technical education institutes – management and engineering – should be capped at 30% of the country’s per capita income.  This would put the figure at Rs 6,000 per year (at current prices).  This may seem drastic, but the report details that even in countries like the US, tuition fee at technical institutes – varying between $5,600 and $ 11,000 – does not exceed 30% of the nation’s per capita GNP.  However, the government is proposing to bring the fees down to the level equal to the annual per capita income.  Sources say the idea is to further reduce fee over time in line with international practice.