Delhi University faces backlash, increases annual fees by 46

Delhi University caused controversy when it raised its annual fees by 46% to Rs 2,350 in several different categories. Several lecturers have accused this action of being an attempt to exploit student fees to pay back loans from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).

These claims were denied by DU Registrar Vikas Gupta, who said, "The university has enough funds to pay the interest and the fee hike has nothing to do with the HEFA loan." Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh stated in October that HEFA has approved a loan corpus of Rs 930 crore.On June 7, DU declared in an official circular that fees for university services and amenities would be increased, to Rs 1,000 for the 2023–24 academic year. In addition, fees for development funds increased by more than 10% to Rs 1,000 from Rs 900 last June, and fees for students' welfare funds were raised to Rs 200.

The annual fee for supporting university funding for economically disadvantaged groups was also changed to Rs 150 for the upcoming academic year. After the hike in July 2022—which was apparently the first in 13 years—this is the second hike in a year. Teachers and academic council members allege that DU is raising fees to repay HEFA loan interest, jeopardising the affordability of education. The proposed 'Strategic Plan 2022-2047' to enhance DU's global ranking has faced criticism, with teachers expressing concerns that funds required for infrastructure will lead to fee hikes through private funding.

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