Guwahati: The Dibrugarh University made it clear that there was no chance of rolling back the fee increase that was announced for the 2022–23 academic year.
The student body recently protested in droves after the university raised the annual fees for its Arts, Science, and Commerce streams.
Members of the Dibrugarh University Post Graduate Students’ Union protested the decision on Tuesday night and demanded that it be reversed. For the academic year 2022–2023, the Dibrugarh University administration increased the annual fees for the Arts and Commerce streams from Rs 4,489 to Rs 5982 and the Science stream from Rs 6,913 to Rs 9,194.
Vice Chancellor Jiten Hazarika of Dibrugarh University stated during a press conference on Tuesday that the institution’s cost structure had not changed in the last 12 years. No one wants to raise the fees, but we are forced to do so because of inflation and increased expenditures. It is only a small increase.
The Dibrugarh University Teachers’ Association, Dibrugarh University Officers’ Association, Dibrugarh University Employees’ Association, Dibrugarh University Scholars’ Association, and the Dibrugarh University Post Graduate Students’ Union were present at the meeting, he continued, which took place on July 25. Everyone supported the decision to raise fees, with the exception of the DUPGSU.
Binod Bora, the joint registrar at Dibrugarh University, said that the tuition there was the lowest of all Assamese universities.
He said, “the annual tuition for the Arts stream at Dibrugarh University is Rs 5,982, while it is Rs 8,975 at Gauhati University, Rs 12,993 at Tezpur University, Rs 9,840 at Bodoland University, and Rs 9,445 at Assam University. Dibrugarh University’s annual fee in science is Rs 9,194, compared to Rs 10,895 at Gauhati University, Rs 15,993 at Tezpur University, Rs 19,000 at Bodoland University, and Rs 18,845 at Assam University.”
“Similar to other universities, Gauhati University charges Rs 8,975, Tezpur University charges Rs 12,943, Bodoland University does not offer a Commerce stream, and Assam University charges Rs 9,445 for the same stream at Dibrugarh University,” Bora said.