A wave of anger swept through the IIT Guwahati campus on Tuesday as a large number of MTech and research scholars staged demonstrations against what they describe as an "unreasonably steep" increase in academic fees. Chants of “Kam karo, kam karo, fee hike kam karo” echoed across the institute as students rallied in protest.

The unrest began after students accused the administration of reneging on assurances made during an open house held on July 17. That meeting, led by the institute’s director and senior academic officials, was meant to address concerns over the fee hike. Students claim they were led to believe that a revision was likely, only to be caught off guard when registration for the new semester opened on July 22 with the revised fee still in effect.

“After the open house, we were told that the administration was considering a fee revision. But no update was communicated,” said a PhD scholar who wished to remain anonymous. "Now, registration is blocked unless we pay the full revised amount."

Many students found themselves unable to enroll for the July-November semester because they hadn’t paid the fee. Those who could afford to pay did so reluctantly, while a majority refused, vowing to continue the protest until the hikes are withdrawn.

“The fee has gone up dramatically. For PhD students, it’s risen by ₹10,900—from ₹34,800 to ₹45,700 within a single semester,” said a student protester. “New entrants are being asked to shell out as much as ₹92,000 for their first semester, and recurring semester costs are around ₹57,000. That’s ₹20,000 more than our monthly stipend.”

Part-time scholars, too, have been hit hard. Their semester fee has jumped from ₹2,500 to ₹25,000.

Another sore point for students is the alleged non-payment of House Rent Allowance (HRA) by the institute—despite the provision being sanctioned by the central government. Hostel accommodation is still being charged for, leaving scholars to claim they’re effectively being charged twice.

A breakdown of the revised charges reveals the depth of the hike:

• Mess charges have gone up from ₹12,000 in 2019–20 to ₹22,000 now, even as students complain of deteriorating food quality.

• Gymkhana fees have doubled from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000.

• Medical charges increased five times, from ₹100 to ₹500.

• Hostel rent rose from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000, and the hostel fund saw a jump from ₹600 to ₹2,200.

• Enrollment fees have also doubled from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000.

• In a move that has particularly irked students, a ₹1,300 ‘fest fee’ has been introduced per semester, despite the institute’s popular annual fest being a prominent event in Northeast India.

BTech students were expected to join the protests on Wednesday, signaling a broader campus-wide agitation.

As of now, IIT Guwahati has not issued any formal response to the growing dissent or the allegations leveled by its student community.