Private engineering colleges in Karnataka hike fees by 10%

Bengaluru: Private engineering colleges have hiked fees for undergraduate courses by 10% for the current academic year after the state government greenlighted the move.

This means that a government quota seat at a private engineering college will now cost Rs 1,06,231.

Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar on Friday chaired a meeting with the representatives of private engineering colleges who had been demanding a 15% hike citing the 3% fee cut last year.

However, having been instructed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to not allow more than a 10% hike, Sudhakar remained firm and did not agree to the private colleges' demand.

Due to the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls, the meeting to discuss the fee structure for professional courses was delayed.

During the 2023-24 academic year, the then BJP government had increased the fees by 10%. But as soon as the Congress came to power, the fee was reduced by 3%.

Speaking about the fee hike, Sudhakar said, "The BJP government
had increased the fee for two years and we reduced the fee from 10% to
7% last year. Though the management demanded a 15% hike, we agreed to 10%."

Though medical education minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil and
officials were also present in the meeting, there was no decision on
fees for medical courses.