Institute of Engineering finally gets to revise fee after 25 years

Beginning this academic year (2023/24), the Institute of Engineering (IOE) at Tribhuvan University pushed to update the Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) syllabus and revise the fees for all engineering programs.

As per the revised fee structure announced on August 10, the total fee for eight semesters (four years) of B.E. and B. Arch. (Bachelor of Architecture) was increased to Rs 83,420 for regular students under scholarship, Rs 775,420 for full-paying students, and Rs 1,599,320 for international students.

The cost increase was attributed to the financial strain of running the campus with the available limited resources and expenses.

This decision uproared opposition from students in the constituent campuses of the institute across the country — resorting to hunger strikes demanding that the fee hike be rescinded. 

The cost for regular students under scholarship has remained at Rs. 318,000 for the last 25 years. There is a provision to increase the fee by 10% every year (beginning in 2055 B.S.), however, IOE has been running its programs at the same fee all these years.

According to the latest notice, the fee has been set at Rs 56,700 for regular students under the scholarship, Rs 490,000 for full-paying students, and Rs 1,313,500 for international students, all including the security deposit for four years. The entrance exam for 2023/24 is scheduled for October 31.

IOE has five constituent campuses: two in the Kathmandu Valley — Pulchowk Campus and Thapathali Campus, Purwanchal Campus in Dharan, Pashchimanchal Campus in Pokhara, and Chitwan Engineering Campus in Bharatpur.

Earlier on October 3, the Dean’s office had suspended the Bachelor’s level (B.E/B.Arch) entrance examination of this academic year until further notice following the en masse resignation of the IOE’s Entrance Examination Board.

On October 4, Pulchowk’s top officials threatened to voluntarily resign from their respective positions citing that they could not run the campus if the fees were reversed. 

The same day, the Dean’s Office issued a press release asking for the support of all the teachers, staff, and students to make the entrance examination systematic and transparent and conduct the exam as soon as possible.

Reportedly, the free student unions had challenged the officials to resign and let the students run the campus administration. The officials reportedly were all set to hand over the workload to them. 

In comparison to IOE’s fee of Rs. 318,000 until last year, the fee for B.E. in Pokhara University ranges up to Rs. 715,000 while it costs Rs 850,000 in Kathmandu University.