Tue May 20 11:40:43 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka Students Protest 5% Hike in Government College Fees
**Bengaluru, May 20, 2025:** The Karnataka Department of Collegiate Education has announced a 5% fee increase for various degree courses in government degree and law colleges, sparking immediate opposition from students. The hike, effective for the 2025-26 academic year, will affect students enrolled in BA, B.Com, BBA, BBM, B.Sc, and law programs.
Department officials maintain the increase only applies to general merit students, citing existing fee reimbursement programs for Scheduled Caste and Tribe students, as well as female students.
However, students argue the additional cost places an undue burden on lower-income and socially disadvantaged students. Yashavanth, a third-year student at Government First Grade College, Bengaluru, highlighted a previous fee increase of over 15% last year, calling the new hike “not right.”
Ajay Kamath, State Secretary of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), criticized the justification of using the collected funds for college development, questioning the distinction between public and private institutions. He further emphasized the underfunding of state-run universities, with several facing closure due to lack of resources. Kamath warned that the fee hike will “permanently push a large number of poor and middle-class students away from higher education.”
Students are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the fee increase and are planning further protests in the coming days.
First Piper 