The govt has decided that the education of foreign students will not be subsidised by the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). Every international student will have to pay Rs 6 lakh per annum while the Indian students will continue to pay Rs 2 lakh per annum.

IIT Council Meet

At present, the IITs are not admitting foreign students. They held a Council meeting in September in which they discussed and decided where the international entrance tests should be held. The centre will hold entrance exams next year for foreign students to get into IITs in Ethiopia, UAE, Singapore, and the SAARC nations (excluding Pakistan). This will be for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Director of IIT Mumbai, Devang Khakar, was tasked by the Council to suggest what tuition fee is suitable for the international students to pay. Reports say that about Rs 6 lakh is spent by the government to educate an individual student at an IIT. However, Indian students pay a tuition fee of Rs 2 lakh per year. Khakar was hence asked whether the government should also back the foreign students’ education.

Khakar suggested that international students also pay a fee of Rs 2 lakh per annum, same as the domestic students. However, this recommendation was overruled by the HRD Ministry and it was decided that the foreign students should pay Rs 6 lakh. On Monday, all the IITs in the country were issued an order to this effect. The international students will, however, will be eligible for scholarships through institution funding and ICCR.