Kerala university withdraws fee hike after outcry

Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has withdrawn its controversial fee hike following massive student protests and widespread public criticism, triggered by the emotional story of a poor student forced to discontinue his studies due to the sudden increase in course fees.

- AM Abdussalam

The semester fee for undergraduate programmes, which had been raised to Rs48,000, has now been rolled back to Rs24,000. For postgraduate students, the fee has been reduced from Rs49,500 to Rs29,000, while PhD scholars will now pay Rs30,000 instead of Rs49,900.

Before the hike announced in September, the fees were Rs18,000 for undergraduate, Rs22,000 for postgraduate, and Rs22,000 for PhD programmes respectively. The revised fee structure, which came into effect abruptly this academic year, had tripled the annual cost for many students and sparked outrage across university campuses.