NLU Delhi doubles its fee for incoming students

Incoming students of National Law University, Delhi will be subject to a revised fee structure of ₹3,20,000, almost double the fee previously payable.

The total yearly fee for previous batches was ₹1,63,500, excluding the mess fees.

Another stark difference between the old and new fee structure is that what was once a categorical bifurcation of internet fees and reading material charges, is now clubbed into one head as 'academic services fee.'

Students of NLU Delhi have reported saying this move seems to have been made after they brought their demands to the notice of the administration,

"We believe it happened due to the fact that we had pointed out to the administration the existence of these heads of fees when we were demanding to be supplied with reading materials, along with adequate WiFi," a student wrote to Bar & Bench.

To this end, Vice-Chancellor in-charge Prof (Dr) Harpreet Kaur said,

"The academic services and facilities fee in the new fee structure includes internet and reading material charges."

Justifying the newly revised fee structure and apprising details of the facilities included in it, Prof Kaur wrote to Bar & Bench saying,

"The fee structure at National Law University Delhi has remained unchanged since the Academic Year 2013-14 and this is the first real change in fees in a decade. We would like to emphasise here that an additional hostel facilities fee of Rs. 20,000 per annum was added from 2018 onwards to cover the operational costs of the newly installed centralised air-conditioning in the halls of residence. The new tuition fee for prospective students has increased from Rs. 85,000 p.a to Rs. 1,35,000 p.a. The overall fees payable to the University has been changed to Rs. 3,20,000 from Rs. 1,86,000. It is our view that this increase is justified in light of increased costs and expenses over the last decade wherein our fee structure has remained unchanged. The mess charges payable to the student-run cooperative mess will be in addition to that. These changes have necessary approvals from the University bodies. An exercise of comparing the fee structures in India’s top National Law Universities was also undertaken as part of this exercise and our fee structure is now in the same range as those applicable to top NLUs."

On the aspect of attracting top talent to the campus in the face of the fee hike, Prof Kaur mentioned that they are increasing access to financial assistance.

"The University takes its commitment to inclusivity very seriously and we have been significantly strengthening the access to financial assistance."

The administration said that the revised fee structure was notified at the time of call for applications to appear in the All-India Law Entrance Test (AILET) 2023. 

[View the old and newly revised fee structure here]