DU's English Department revises Phd fee hike amid furore

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) The Delhi University's English Department has revised the hike in fee for its PhD programme after coming under fire from students and teachers.

In a notification issued on Tuesday, the department announced that the fee has been reduced to Rs 17,118 from Rs 23,968 earlier. Any excess payment already made by students will be adjusted at the time of the next payment, it added.

'As decided by the university, the revised fee for PhD scholars admitted with effect from the academic years 2023-34 will be Rs 17,118,' the notification read.

Reacting to the announcement, a Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) executive said the decision to partially roll back the fee hike is not satisfactory.

'This revision is not satisfactory. We demand that the University immediately reviews the decision,' Abha Habib, DUTA Executive said.

Earlier this month, several teachers pointed out that the English Department had hiked the fee for PhD scholars by 12 times when compared to Rs 1,932 last year.

The Democratic Teachers' Front had written a letter to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh expressing concern over the fee hike and demanded its roll back, saying it will put students under financial stress.

'Such an astronomical hike in fee was not previously discussed in the Academic Council and the Executive Council,' the letter added.

Students' unions cutting across party lines also demanded that the fee hike be withdrawn while seeking an inquiry into the role of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loans that has allegedly resulted in fee inflation. PTI SJJ RHL