IIM-A raises annual fees for two postgraduate courses

AHMEDABAD: The Indian Institute of Management here on Saturday hiked the annual fees for two-year postgraduate course by Rs23,000 to Rs2 lakh.

"The fees have been hiked from Rs1.77 lakh to Rs2 lakh," IIM-Ahmedabad Chairman Vijaypat Singhania told reporters after the institute's board of governors met here to decide on the matter.

The fees for the postgraduate programme for executives (PGPX) too was hiked from Rs10 lakh to Rs14 lakh.

This was second consecutive year in which the IIM-A increased the fees for the postgraduate management programme.

According to Singhania, the IIM-A annually spends Rs4 lakh per student for the management programme. "The cost of education is rising very rapidly due to inflation," he said.

"Keeping these issues in mind, it is a very nominal hike," he remarked.

IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia said the board of governors had taken an unanimous decision to hike the fees. The 50 per cent subsidy given to all students will be funded from other incomes of the IIM-A, he said.

The institute does not take any financial aid from the government, he added.

The hike in fees will be applicable from this academic year, Dholakia said.

Dholakia said the hike in fees will not affect poor and needy students. "The need-based financial assistance given to poor students will also be increased in the same proportion," he said.

Last year, the IIM-A had increased its fees from Rs1.55 lakh a year to Rs1.77 lakh, marking an increase of about 12 per cent.

Dholakia justified the fee hike of Rs4 lakh for the one-year PGPX by saying such courses had very high fees across the world. Even the Indian School of Business charged Rs16 lakh for such a course, he noted.

The hike in the fees for the PGPX course will be applicable from 2008, he said.

Dholakia said all six IIMs had recently decided not to raise fees over Rs2 lakh.

He, however, choose not to comment when a journalist pointed out that IIM-Bangalore had hiked its fees by Rs75,000 to Rs2.50 lakh.

The issue of a hike in the salary of IIM-A's faculty was also discussed in Saturday's meeting. Singhania said this issue is pending with the Union human resource development ministry and the IIM-A expected it would be cleared soon.

The board of IIM-A also decided to give awards to faculty members whose research papers are published in well-known journals, Dholakia said.

source:dnaindia.com
 
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