Delhi University plans to hike PhD thesis evaluation fees by over Rs 2,500

NEW DELHI: Delhi University plans to raise the fees for PhD thesis evaluation by over Rs 2,500 for all students, official documents showed. The thesis submission fee, which was earlier Rs 5,000 for students with a fellowship, is likely to surge to Rs 7,500 -- a 50 per cent hike. For students without a fellowship, the fees are likely to rise over 80 per cent from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,500.

A university official, however, said the fees would now also include the charges for thesis submission and provisional certificates. He claimed that earlier, the students had to pay for thesis submission and provisional certificates at a later stage. The new rules would combine all the fees as a one-time payment.

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Defending the hike, Dean of Examinations DS Rawat said it was not a substantial increase and added that the entire system was being shifted online. "Earlier, students had to pay 500 for a thesis submission certificate and provisional certificate. That is now being increased to Rs 750 each and will be submitted along with the thesis submission fee," Rawat told PTI. "Moreover, the thesis submission fee is only being increased by Rs 1,000, which is not a substantial increase. The entire process is being made smoother and the students will benefit from it," he added.

A resolution in this regard will be presented in the upcoming Academic Council meeting on November 22. Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh exercised his 'emergency power' and approved the revision of the honorarium for thesis evaluation in October. The remuneration of thesis evaluation for Indian examiners is expected to be increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 while that for foreign examiners will go up from Rs 1,500 to Rs 8,126.33 (USD 100). The remuneration to conduct viva-voce for Indian examiners will be raised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and that for foreign examiners will be hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,063.16 (USD 50).

An Academic Council member, however, has decried the hike as unreasonable. Naveen Gaur said the university must first provide a reason before raising the fees. "They should first tell why the fee is being hiked as it is a public-funded university. They should tell whether they asked for money from the government first before increasing the fees for students," Gaur said.