The Union HRD minister has urged the IITs to wait till the ministry puts in place a finance corporation to help students get loans. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are mulling a Rs 35,000 rise in student fees for the next 10 years. This would effectively increase the fees from the current Rs 50,000 a year to Rs 400,000 a year by the end of 10 years.

Currently, IITs spend Rs 400,000 per student annually. To be financially independent, IITs need to earn this amount through student fees. At present, they charge Rs 50,000 a year. The areas of income for an IIT include a government grant (which takes care of 25-35 per cent of an IIT's expenditure), student fees and sponsored research.

M Thenmozhi, faculty at IIT Madras and president of All India IIT Faculty Federation, concurs that "with an increase in costs, it is important to increase student fees. Engineering studies in India should be subsidised, but we are looking at maybe a Rs 30,000-35,000 increase in the annual student fee immediately." Government funds make up for around 25 per cent of IIT Madras's expenditure.

Bhartendu Seth, President, IIT Bombay Faculty Association, is thinking on similar lines. "We are making significant investments into areas like bio-sciences and engineering. A lot of cost escalation over the years need to be taken care of. But engineering studies in India should always be subsidised, like it is world over. Perhaps grants from the government could be increased," he says.

At present, research funding is a part of the total money an institute receives from the government. Separating the research funds will ensure a dedicated budget for research, according to IIT Bombay.

M Balakrishnan, Dean of post graduate studies, IIT Delhi, maintains that "we need more resources, like investments in research, laboratories, equipment, consumables. We are also proposing that salaries for post-doctoral fellows should be increased. All this would lead to a hike in student fees."

"Salaries and stipends are so poor that most students do not wish to take up doctoral programmes and eventually join the faculty. Stipends for doctoral students should be at least Rs 30,000-40,000 per month, instead of 17,000-25,000 right now, in order to encourage them to join the profession," adds Thenmozhi.