Pursuing a PhD at the University of Madras has become a costly affair. PhD candidates, who recently submitted their synopsis and thesis at the university, were in for a shock as the university has hiked various fees by exorbitant amounts without any prior announcement, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
According to the screenshot shared by a part-time PhD candidate, the fee for submission of a thesis has been hiked by Rs 30,000 while it was Rs 5,000 earlier. Full-time PhD candidates, who previously paid only an application fee of Rs 100, are now required to pay an additional Rs 25,000 for submitting their thesis, according to sources.
While a senior official from the university confirmed that the fee has been hiked and stated it was passed by the syndicate and senate in June, Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university, S Gowri denied it and claimed it was only a proposal.
Additionally, the fee for submission of a synopsis has been raised by Rs 2,000.
PhD candidates speak
"I recently submitted my synopsis at the university and was informed that the fee has increased to Rs 6,000 from the earlier Rs 4,000. When I enquired with my colleagues at a city college and other PhD candidates, they said that the university had not sent any proper circular regarding this. The university staff told me that the fee hike came into effect from July 1," said a PhD candidate while speaking to The New Indian Express.
Moreover, the university has also introduced a plagiarism fee of Rs 1,000 and increased the tuition fee by Rs 2,000 for candidates.
"This unannounced revision of the fees has caused distress and financial burden for thousands of PhD research scholars. When candidates go to pay the fees for submitting their thesis, they are directed by the university staff to pay the revised fee which is significantly higher than the fee mentioned in the PhD thesis submission application on the university's website. They also increased the continuation of PhD registration fees from Rs 2,000 to 3,000 for part-time candidates and Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for full-time candidates in 2022," said a former PhD candidate.
He added while the university initially said that the continuation of PhD registration fees is to ensure that the candidates continue their research without any break when it was introduced about five years ago, several candidates who took a break are now being asked to pay fees for previous years together when submitting the thesis.
An academic council member criticised the hike as unreasonable. While he acknowledged the university's financial crisis, he said a seven to 250-fold increase was unacceptable.
"Many students pursue PhD without fellowships and this hike will significantly impact them. Such a move would also discourage students from opting for research when the state government is trying to promote it. The new fees are higher than what is charged by several universities in the state and country," he said. He added that the University of Madras sees around 700 students completing their PhD every year.
