The Ministry of Human Resource Development has deferred the decision to hike the MTech fee in the IITs for further discussion on the issue. While the ministry had, in September, announced the decision of the IIT Council that it will implement the fee hike, the issue will again be taken up at the next meeting.

The development comes against the backdrop of protests by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students against a recent fee hike. The Ministry of Human Resource Development officials, however, did not comment on the reasons behind the decision being put on hold.

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The next council meeting date has not been decided yet. IIT-Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao had said the MTech programmes at the IITs recorded a dropout rate of over 50 per cent as the students treated the courses as a "stop-gap arrangement" till they landed a job or cracked a competitive exam.

The IIT Council, led by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, had approved a proposal to hike the fee for the Master's programme and bring it to the level of the BTech courses in September.

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The decision was taken on recommendations of a three-member committee on reforms on the MTech programme in the IITs. The IIT Council is the highest decision-making body of all the 23 IITs.