Karnataka notifies 50% fee waiver for 'out of favour' streams at govt engineering colleges

As mentioned in the gazette, the department has chosen mechanical, civil, textiles technology, silk technology and automobile engineering streams for a 50% fee waiver following the decline in demand for them over the years.

Bengaluru: The fees for a few ‘out of favour’ engineering streams in government engineering colleges have been waived by 50 per cent. They include once-popular streams, like mechanical and civil.

Adding the fee waiver decision to the official gazette issued, the higher education department said, if private colleges wish to add their list to the fee waiver, the same can be communicated to the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA). So far, no private engineering college has updated about fee waiver.

As mentioned in the gazette, the department has chosen mechanical, civil, textiles technology, silk technology and automobile engineering streams for a 50 per cent fee waiver following the decline in demand for them over the years. The order says that, 50 per cent fee waiver will be applicable from the 2025-26 academic year.

The department has issued an official order increasing fees for engineering and architecture courses by 7.5 per cent for both government and private quota seats. The fees at government colleges have been hiked by 5 per cent.

The fee at private colleges is Rs 81,800 for CET seats (type-1 colleges) and Rs 91,000 (type-2 colleges). This excludes university registration and other processing fees.

In COMED-K, the fee is Rs 2,00,000 (type-1 colleges) and Rs 2,81,100 (type-2 colleges). With the university registration and other processing charges, the fees for CET seats in private colleges (type-1 colleges) will be Rs 1,12,410 and Rs 1,21,610 (type-2 colleges).

As stated in the order, 100 per cent of the fees in government colleges and 95 per cent of the fees in aided colleges are Rs 44,200.

Fees for constituent colleges of the University of Mysore, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), for seats in engineering and architecture courses are Rs 44,200 (50 per cent waiver), including university registration and other processing fees.

The fee at University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) is Rs 49,600.

Tuition fees for candidates admitted under 5 per cent supernumerary quota seats have been exempted. Private engineering colleges are allowed to charge up to Rs 20,000 as additional charges in the first year for facilities they provide and that fees should also be paid at KEA.

This year, in the consensual agreement itself, the government has warned colleges against charging excess fees and also directed them to collect skill fees based on facilities provided and only from students willing to pursue the skills.