Today, July 1, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Peru said that over 71 per cent of more than 1.66 lakh students taking admission in different colleges across the state have availed fee waiver schemes for poor families.

Previously, students with a parental annual income of up to Rs 2 lakh were eligible for free admission, but the limit has been raised to Rs 4 lakh this year, Pegu said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The colleges now allow ration cards as proof of family earnings instead of income certificates earlier, he added.

According to Peru, "This year, 1,18,199 (71 per cent) students out of 1,66,123 students have availed free admission till yesterday evening." The admission fees are set by colleges and universities with the State Fee Regulation Committee determining the upper limit, he further added.

Brushing aside reports of doubling admission fees, the minister asserted that the state government does not charge any fee from college students and instead, offers a fee waiver scheme for Below Poverty Line (BPL) students, as stated in a report by PTI.

Sharing Pegu's post, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government has paid Rs 103 crore to different colleges for the enrollment of students in the last year.