The government has hiked the fees for undergraduate engineering courses at IITs from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, which will apply from 2013.  The hike leaves out SC, ST and OBC students and graduates from the general category who are unable to afford it or choose to study further.Those being charged can pay the amount in easy instalments after they take up job offers. While the hike is a welcome move, the motive behind it and the structuring of its payment seem questionable. One, why will only a certain class of students have to pay? Generous subsidies from the government cushion the students from bearing the full weight of the cost of their education. At the IITs, the government picks up a tab of Rs 6 lakh per student. Proponents of subsidising higher education, especially at the IITs, need to revisit their arguments in the light of today’s realities. Engineering placements, especially at IITs, are a sellers’ market. Paying the hike in easy instalments wouldn’t strain graduates with stellar starting salaries.

Two, what exactly does the government hope to achieve? Is it really serious about recovering costs? A more pragmatic move would have been to hike the fees upfront without the late-payments rider. There are many nationalised banks with soft-lending options for students who want to get into premier institutes. The arrangement has worked so far, and will work far into the future. On the surface, it would seem like the government wants graduates to choose academia over corporate (with the reprieve for those choosing further studies). But the amount is too low to deter one from taking up a high-paying corporate job in favour of working in a government laboratory.

Three, what’s with the caste rider? With four years at IIT behind him/her, would the caste of an applicant matter to a Google or Texas Instruments? Of course, there are far lesser dalits in big jobs than there should be. But the remedy is ensuring that more of them get into the IITs and other desi Ivy League institutes, not being ingratiatingly (politically) charitable on those graduating out of them. Some would argue that the statutes on relaxed fees for dalits will be contravened if they are asked to pay. Well, in that case, why not give them the option of paying back a commensurate differential instead of foregoing the entire amount? Affirmative action should be directed at the premier institutes which are burdened under the cost of educating each student, whether from the general category or from a caste list.

Lastly, will it tax the entrepreneur? Not a word on what happens to the those who decide they will be offering jobs instead of looking for one!