Varsity will take a final decision on June 19

Principal Dr T A Shivare of Hinduja College, who is also president of the Association of Non-Government Colleges, has backed the proposal. He said, "A fee hike is needed to maintain the quality of education. For self finance courses we appoint NET-SET approved teachers and have to pay their salaries as per the 6th Pay Commission. Fees from students is the only source from which we can generate money for salaries. The same course fees in autonomous institutes in the city and outside the state is almost double of what we charge in our colleges."

Dr Shivare added, "For aided courses we do not get any non-salary grants but still have to spend a lot on things such as infrastructure, electricity, water, etc. If a small hike in course fees is implemented, we will be able to earn some more money to meet our expenses."

However, Arundhati Chavan, president of the Parents Teachers Association, said that they are opposed to any steep hike. She said, "Education should be affordable for all classes of people. There's a greater demand for self financing courses because these courses are job-oriented courses and they should be made affordable for poor students. The Fee Fixation Committee must keep poor students in mind when taking a final decision. We are not opposing a fee hike at all, but it should be reasonable."

The Fee Fixation Committee has already held two meetings to discuss the hike which will be implemented in over 500 colleges affiliated to the university. In fact, speaking on condition of anonymity, one principal said that while the admission process has already begun, their prospectus clearly mentions that in the event of a hike being approved, the fees will accordingly be revised.