DU's development fee now Rs 900 as UGC reduces grants, teachers believe move will burden marginalised students

The Delhi University has decided to increase the annual University Development Fee (UDF) by Rs 300 in view of the reduction in capital grants by the University Grants Commission, according to official documents. Since the academic year 2012-13, the students have been paying Rs 600 per year as UDF and a section of teachers believe that the decision to raise it will lead to a steep hike in the overall varsity fee. The varsity had constituted a UDF committee to consider the allocation of funds for various activities such as construction of new buildings and procurement of laboratory equipment. 

Recommending the fee hike, the committee said, "Keeping in view the fund requirement as well as the government mandate for self-sufficiency and the reduction of capital grants by the UGC and in order to create ICT (information and communications) enabled infrastructure, the UDF amount should be revised to Rs 900 per student per year." 

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The committee, comprising former Pro-Vice Chancellor PC Joshi and Registrar Vikas Gupta, said that the UGC is not releasing a sufficient capital grant to the university for laboratory equipment and other equipment for the last three to four years. It said that the varsity was allocated only Rs 1.25 crore in the current financial year. "With this very small amount, the university is not able to purchase even a single piece of laboratory equipment for departments. The departments are regularly asking for funds for replacement/purchase of laboratory equipment for academic and other research activities," the panel noted.

Dissenting members
The committee's recommendations were accepted in the varsity's Executive Council meeting held on December 17 — though a few members of the council had dissented against the move. Executive Council member Seema Das said, "Earlier this development fund was collected by students, and was treated by the university as an emergency fund. As in every household, some amount of money is never touched and kept for difficult times, this UDF has been like this."

"Forcing the university to draw from UDF for infrastructure and development will make things difficult for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, economically weaker section students," Das said. Rajesh Jha, a Political Science professor, and former Executive Council member said, "The fee hike is for a small amount but the university is seeing how this will impact students. The committee has noted that there is a shortage of grants from the UGC," he added.

Abha Dev Habib, secretary of the Democratic Teachers' Front, concurred with Jha. "At this point, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, no institution is increasing fees but doing so, even if it's minimal, is not the right thing. The university is planning to start new courses and new departments. From where will the funds be generated for this?" she said.