IIT-Guwahati students protest fee hike – 'Forced to pay more than our stipend'

IIT-Guwahati

The campus of IIT-Guwahati was tense on Tuesday as a large number of students, especially PhD research scholars and MTech students, gathered to protest against what they described as an ‘exceptionally high’ hike in fees for the July-November 2025 semester, News18 reported.

The protest saw students raising slogans like “Kam karo, kam karo, fee hike kam karo,” and “Fee hike wapas lo,” demanding immediate rollback of the revised fee structure.

The new fee hike applies not just to PhD and MTech students but also to BTech students, who are expected to join the protest soon. The protests began after students felt let down by the administration following a previous discussion held on July 17.

In that open house session, the director of IIT Guwahati along with senior deans had assured students that their concerns regarding the increased fee structure would be heard and addressed. However, students now allege that those assurances were not kept.

“The administration had said they would look into the matter and revise the fee. But on the day of registration, July 22, there was no clarity. We couldn’t register unless we paid the fee. It was like we were forced to pay without any proper communication from the authorities,” NDTV quoted a PhD scholar as saying.

When students went to their respective departments to complete registration, they were allegedly stopped due to non-payment of the hiked fees. This led to frustration and a large-scale protest on campus. Some students said they were left with no option but to pay the higher amount. However, most of the research scholars are continuing the protest and refusing to pay until the hike is rolled back.

As per NDTV, the fee for PhD students increased by Rs 10,900 for the July-November semester, from Rs 34,800 in the January-May 2025, and rose to Rs 45,700.

"The incoming students are expected to pay an exorbitant amount of Rs 92,000. Besides, each semester, their total fee with the current revision will be around Rs 57,000 (because of the new tuition fee applied to them). That is 20k more than their stipend," scholars allege.

From Rs 2,500 to Rs 25,000 per semester, the fee for the part-time scholars has also seen a steep rise.

The protesting students also raised other serious concerns. They allege that IIT Guwahati does not provide House Rent Allowance (HRA) to eligible research scholars, despite central government provisions. Moreover, they are charged a separate hostel fee. “This means IIT-G is charging us double,” NDTV quoted another scholar as saying.

Key fee hikes

• Gymkhana fee: Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000
• Medical fee: Rs 100 to Rs 500
• Hostel rent: Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000
• Hostel fund: Rs 600 to Rs 2,200
• Electricity and water charges: Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500
• New fest fee: Rs 1,300 per semester

IIT-Guwahati has not issued any official statement regarding the protests or the allegations made by students as of now.