What’s Behind the Silent Surge in Fees at Assam University?

On July 30, the usually quiet campus of Assam University in Silchar became the site of a determined and peaceful protest. Students, led by the Assam University Students’ Union (AUSU), rose in resistance against a sharp and sudden admission fee hike. Placards were raised. Gates were locked. Chants of unity echoed through academic corridors.

But this was no isolated flash of dissent. It was part of a troubling national pattern—a wave of fee hikes and administrative opacity spreading across India’s public universities, from Assam University to the hallowed halls of IIT Guwahati.

What’s unfolding is not just a crisis of affordability. It’s a systemic dismantling of the very idea that public higher education in India should be accessible, affordable, and accountable. A slow, calculated shift is underway—one that turns public universities into unaffordable spaces, and students into passive payers, rather than active participants in a democratic academic system.

Silchar’s Spark: Assam University Under Fire

The AUSU has vehemently condemned the recent fee hikes for Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Integrated courses, calling them unjustified and insensitive. “Students should not be forced to choose between education and financial survival,” the union declared.

The protest on July 30 saw hundreds of students block the university gate, demanding immediate rollback. Last year, the university had already raised fees for professional courses like MBA, B.Pharm, M.Pharm, and Law by nearly 50%. This year, fee hikes reportedly range between 30% and 40% across all departments.

PhD students have been particularly hard-hit—with their annual fees jumping to Rs 15,000. Meanwhile, the bus fee has increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000, even though only about 20 buses serve 4,000–5,000 commuting students daily.

In a conversation with Pratidin Time, a student leader from the AUSU said:

“From the last three years, there has been immense hike in the fee structure. This year again, when the fees were raised, we submitted a memorandum. But after getting no response, we launched a protest on Wednesday—four days later. The protest lasted the whole day. The main gate was closed throughout. Only after that did the administration form a committee with three protestors and three faculty members. They asked for seven days to review, but we’ve given them just two. If the fee structure isn’t revised, we’ll continue our protest. We are not going to accept this.”

In their official statement, the union demanded:

1. Immediate rollback of the hiked fees.

2. Transparent and inclusive decision-making involving students.

3. Public assurance that the university remains committed to equitable education.

4. Immediate publication of merit lists—both CUET and non-CUET—on departmental websites to restore trust in the admission process.

IIT Guwahati: A Chilling Mirror

Just days earlier, a storm had already broken out at IIT Guwahati, where PhD scholars were forced to comply with a massive semester fee hike under threat of losing their stipends, accommodation, and basic academic rights.

The registration deadline of July 29 became a deadline not just for enrollment—but for submission. According to protesting scholars, the administration made it clear: no fees, no stipend.

“There was no option left,” one PhD scholar told Pratidin Time. “They made it very clear—no fees, no labs, no hostels, no insurance. They pushed us to the edge.”

The fee hike was staggering—up to Rs 91,000 per semester for new PhD entrants, a 200% increase. Even continuing students had to pay Rs 45,700, sparking widespread anger. Some were forced to take interest-free loans from the very institution imposing the hikes.

The administration offered vague promises of a “readjustment process” in case of future revisions—but no timeline, no safeguards, and no accountability.

Even faculty members raised alarm bells. “This is not sustainable,” said one professor. “If fees keep rising, students from modest backgrounds will simply stop coming.”

Weaponizing the Stipend: Ethics in Crisis

The most disturbing aspect of the IIT Guwahati standoff was the alleged weaponization of stipends. For many scholars, these stipends are not luxuries—they are survival. The threat to suspend them unless students complied with fee hikes triggered fear, anger, and deep disillusionment.

“To threaten scholars with stipend suspension unless they comply with administrative decisions is a betrayal of academic ethics,” said a former IIT-G alumnus. “It goes against the very spirit of inquiry and freedom that these institutions are meant to uphold.”

Emails from the Academic Office didn’t read like reminders. They sounded like ultimatums.

A Systemic Malaise, Not Isolated Incidents

The protest in Silchar. The silent compliance in Guwahati. The slow-burning discontent in university after university.

These are not disconnected incidents. They reflect a systemic malaise—where bureaucratic opacity, financial coercion, and administrative arrogance are replacing dialogue, equity, and accessibility.

When merit lists are withheld, when fees are hiked without consultation, and when students are cornered into silence, what we’re witnessing is not reform—but erosion.

Who Are Public Universities Really Serving?

India wants to become a global knowledge superpower. Its policymakers dream of world-class institutions, innovation hubs, Nobel laureates. But dreams built on exclusion and financial arm-twisting are castles on sand.

Students across Assam—and the nation—are asking the real questions:

• Who benefits from these fee hikes?

• Who will be held accountable if “readjustments” never come?

• Why are consultative mechanisms absent in public institutions?

• Why must the right to education come with a price tag that so many can no longer afford?

Final Word: This Fight Is Bigger Than One Campus

The students of Assam University may have locked a gate. IIT Guwahati scholars may have reluctantly paid. But the fire has not gone out.

From Silchar to Guwahati to Delhi, the message is clear: India’s public education cannot become a privilege. It must remain a right.

Because if we let our finest institutions become unaffordable fortresses, we are not just betraying our students—we are betraying the nation’s future.

Also Read: Stipend as Weapon? IIT Guwahati Scholars Buckle Under Administrative Pressure