A recommendation given by the Anil Kakodkar committee to hike the fees of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) from the current Rs.50, 000 to around more than Rs.2 lakh per year has been rejected by the Council of the Indian Institutes of Technology (CIIT). The CIIT is the top decision making body for the IITs. The reason that CIIT cited for not hiking the fees was that it could deter the students from seeking admission at the prestigious institutions. The council had met on Friday to discuss the recommendations. It gave an in-principle approval for the establishment of a technical institute in Mauritius with the help of the IITs. It was also decided at the meeting that the directors for all IITs will be appointed through a procedure involving not only the search committee but also open advertisements. During the course of the meeting, Kakodkar, who had been earlier asked to come up with a roadmap for the IITs, was asked to examine several suggestions that were made during the meeting and rework the report. The reforms in the Joint Entrance Examination and curriculum could not be discussed during the meeting as Department of Science and Technology secretary T Ramaswamy was not present. A report on the two issues had been prepared by Ramaswamy. A considerable amount of time had been spent by the council in discussing the recommendation that had been given by Kakodkar for financial autonomy of the institutes. Most IIT directors felt that the suggestion given by Kakodkar was too simplistic and autonomy would be difficult to be attained by just a fee hike. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had not supported the recommended fee hike for IITs, saying that high fees would act as a deterrent for students who wish to pursue education at the IITs.
