A sharp hike in fees for several undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) for the academic year 2026-27 has triggered protests from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) which termed the hike as ‘arbitrary’ and ‘anti-student’ and demanded that it be rolled back immediately.GIPE on June 3 issued a statement defending the revised fee structure. (HT)Following GIPE’s announcement of the revised fee structure on April 1 this year, Maharashtra Pradesh NSUI general secretary advocate Krishna Sathe on June 3 submitted a memorandum to GIPE vice-chancellor (VC) Umakant Dash, stating that fees for several courses have risen steeply within a year, making higher education increasingly inaccessible to students from ordinary economic backgrounds. As per the memorandum, fees for the aided M.A. Economics programme have risen from ₹77,120 in 2025-26 to ₹1.58 lakh in 2026-27. Similarly, fees for the M.Sc. Economics (PSHE) programme have increased from ₹97,000 to ₹2.19 lakh whereas fees for the M.Sc. Economics (ABE) programme have risen from ₹1.82 lakh to ₹2.19 lakh. Fees for programmes such as M.Sc. Public Policy, M.Sc. Geopolitics and Geoeconomics, and M.Sc. Financial Economics/International Business Economics and Finance have been fixed at ₹3 lakh. Fees for B.Sc. Economics and B.Sc. Economics (Data Science) have been revised to ₹2.28 lakh. The NSUI claimed that the aided M.A. Economics programme has witnessed a fee hike of more than 100% while the M.Sc. Economics (PSHE) programme has seen a fee hike of more than 125%.The students’ organisation argued that at a time when families are already grappling with inflation, unemployment and rising educational expenses, such a steep rise will impose an additional financial burden on students and parents. It said that the move will effectively restrict access to quality higher education to those who can afford it.“Such an excessive fee hike by a reputed institution like GIPE is unjustified and arbitrary. The decision has been taken without considering the financial realities faced by students and their families. The revised fee structure should be withdrawn immediately and last year’s fees should be retained. If the institute fails to take a positive decision, NSUI will launch a larger agitation along with students,” Sathe said.Responding to the criticism, GIPE on June 3 issued a statement defending the revised fee structure and saying that the changes are necessary to address rising operational and academic costs while maintaining the quality of education.“As an autonomous institution, GIPE remains committed to accessible, high-quality education. The revised fee structure reflects a limited and carefully considered adjustment to partially address rising operational and academic costs, while the institute continues to bear a substantial share of these expenses,” read the statement.The institute added that the rationalisation of fees across various Masters’ programmes has been undertaken to ensure greater parity among courses and avoid distortions in students’ course preferences, while maintaining academic quality and student support services.“The rationalisation of fees across Masters’ programmes has also been undertaken to ensure greater parity and avoid distortions in course preferences, while maintaining academic quality and student support,” the institute said.