Fees of engineering colleges in Odisha to increase

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has initiated the process to revise the fee structure of  government-run engineering and polytechnic colleges while the private engineering institutes have requested the government to hike students’ fees.

The increased fee will affect close to 1.5 lakh students.

While 35 government-run institutions now charge a course fee of Rs 5,500 a student, the 116 private colleges charge an annual fee of Rs 26,500, said an official.

The government is in the process of revising the fee structure as there has been no modification in the diploma engineering fee structure since 2010.

The technical institutions, including diploma engineering courses, is governed as per the Odisha Professional Education Act 2007. Under this act, the fee structure committee is entrusted with fixing of fees every three years.

Odisha Private Engineering Colleges Association has been demanding a fee hike.

Saroj Sahoo, who heads the Odisha Private Engineering Schools’ Association, said it had become very difficult to manage these institutions.