Kuvempu University, an affiliating university for colleges in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts, has increased its fee for post-graduate and Ph.D. courses, attracting the wrath of many students. The hike in some case is as high as 100%.

The university has announced its fee structure on its website. Now, a student joining faculty of arts should pay ₹12,613 per year, against the old fee of ₹9,009. The fee, in case of other university students taking merit-cum-payment seats in arts faculty, is ₹57,057 (old fee ₹ 40,755). It goes up to ₹80,080 in case of a seat in science faculty.

Similarly, the university has revised the fee structure for Ph.D. course as well. The application fee has been increased from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000, registering 100% hike. Internet facility fee has been increased to ₹1,500 from ₹1,000. The provisional registration fee has been increased from ₹5,000 to ₹6,500.

Admission fee for post-graduation courses

Lab fee has been increased from ₹4,500 to ₹7,650, and in case of foreign students, it has been increased to ₹10,000 from ₹5,000. The fee to change title has been increased to ₹10,000 from the previous fee of ₹6,000. Resubmission of thesis now costs ₹10,000 against ₹5,000. Change of language of PhD thesis costs ₹10,000, against the old fee of ₹5,000.

The fee to extend the period of research beyond the prescribed limit has been revised, too. For the first year, the fee is ₹20,000 (earlier it was ₹10,000) and for the second year, the amount is ₹20,000.

“The fee for each procedure has been revised. If the university is facing a financial crisis, it should not penalise students. If the fee is increased so much, then the state university is also becoming another private university,” said a research scholar, who wished not to be named.

Financial constraints, lack of grants

The university in its budget for the year 2025-26, tabled in March this year, stated that the institute was facing financial constraints and had a shortage of ₹37.26 crore to meet the expenses. Registrar of the university A.L. Manjunath defended the revision of fee, citing financial position of the university.

“The fee structure has been revised marginally. The fee for coursework had not been revised for seven years. What else can we do when we don’t have other sources for finance?” said the registrar. The university had to mobilise its resources internally, as there had been no grants from the government. “We have to pay salary to guest faculty. However, when compared to other universities, the fee fixed here is less,” he added.