Technical Colleges Get New Three-Year Fees; 42 Institutions Face Hikes Of Up To 30%

Students at 42 private technical colleges in Gujarat will have to pay revised fees after the state's Technical Courses Fee Regulation Committee approved new three-year fee structures for the institutions, with hikes ranging from around 5% to 15% in several colleges and reaching 30% at one diploma college.

The revised fee structures apply to the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 academic years and were announced on September 21, after the admission process for the current academic year had already concluded.

Fee Hike Announced In Two Phases

The Technical Courses Fee Regulation Committee began the fee revision exercise in November last year.

Under the existing process, colleges seeking an increase of up to 5% can receive the hike based on their applications. Institutions seeking an increase of more than 5% are assessed on factors including their financial accounts, facilities and compliance with prescribed SOP-based criteria. Physical inspections can also be carried out where required.

In March, private technical colleges were granted fee increases of up to 5%. However, more than 80 colleges had sought hikes exceeding 5%.

The committee subsequently announced revised fees in two phases.

In the first phase, fee structures for 30 colleges were announced, with the average increase ranging between 10% and 12%.

42 Colleges Get Revised Fees After Appeals

Following the first round of decisions, 37 colleges filed objections or appeals against the committee's decisions. After hearings, the committee announced revised three-year fee structures for another 42 colleges, including the institutions that had challenged the earlier decisions.

The second phase has resulted in average fee increases of around 10% to 15%, although the increase varies from college to college.

One private diploma college has received a hike of around 30%, with its annual fee increasing from ₹35,000 to ₹45,000.

Architecture Fee Reaches ₹1.85 Lakh At Navrachana University

Among the revised fees, Navrachana University has received an increase of ₹16,000 for its architecture course.

The fee, earlier fixed at ₹1.69 lakh, has now been raised to ₹1.85 lakh annually.

In another case, Rai University had sought an annual fee of ₹85,000 for its B.E. programme. The committee, however, did not approve the requested increase and retained the previous fee of ₹67,000.

Students Face Additional Payment After Admissions

The timing of the revised fee structure has become a key concern for students.

The new fees were announced after the admission process for the 2026-27 academic year, including the extended deadline for technical courses, had already concluded.

Students had already secured admission and paid semester or token fees based on the earlier fee structure.

With the revised fees now finalised, students at the affected colleges will have to pay the difference between the amount already paid and the newly approved fee.

The new fee structures will remain applicable for the next three academic years, covering 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29.