DU PhD Fee Hike: The English Department of Delhi University has hiked the fees for its PhD programme by 1,100 per cent to Rs 23,968 from Rs 1,932 last year, the teachers claimed on Thursday, as reported by news agency PTI. According to them, the fee for PhD programmes in all other streams of Delhi University is around Rs 4400.

The SFI, a political organisation, has condemned the move, stating that it will impact students’ “accessibility to quality higher education”.

“We strongly oppose the fee hike in DU. It is a blatant attack on publicly funded education institutions… The move limits opportunities and exacerbates financial stress on students and their families,” it said in a statement.

The student body has alleged that the administration did not provide enough time for students to pay the fees. “The Students were asked to pay the amount through a one-day deadline,” it said.

The teachers of the university and SFI have demanded a rollback of the fee hike.

Abha Dev Habib, an assistant professor at the university, expressed her strong disapproval of the fee hike in a Facebook post, saying, "A hike of over 1,200 per cent is unacceptable and unfortunate. Nothing can explain this kind of inflation. It is unacademic as this fee hike will reduce diversity and adversely impact students."

"Scholarships and concessions cannot be a substitute for affordable fees for all. This astronomical fee hike needs to be rolled back immediately. Such an attack on access to education and on diversity is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India and cannot be allowed to succeed," she added.

(With input from agencies)