BENGALURU: Members of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) on Sunday protested against the recent decision by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to drastically increase its tuition fees.

They said that the agitation comes in response to the institute’s announcement that fees for the Bachelor of Science (BS) programme would be hiked from Rs 10,000 to a staggering Rs 80,000 per annum from the 2026-27 academic year — a 700% increase that the protesters labelled as a “direct assault on the accessibility of higher education”. Student activists gathered at Malleswaram and raised slogans against “commercialization” of premiere research institutions.

AIDSO state treasurer Subhash BJ highlighted that such a sharp escalation would effectively shut the doors of the country’s top science institute for students hailing from poor and middle-class backgrounds.

The protesters demanded an immediate rollback of the fee hike and urged the central government to increase funding for research institutes rather than forcing them to generate revenue through student fees.