Khallikote University, Odisha has announced a reduction in the fees of Postgraduate courses for the 2020-21 session in their recent notifications.

The officials of the Khallikote University issued updates regarding the reduction on their notice board. Due to COVID 19, the fess for various PG courses has slashed down by 60-65%.

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The lowering of fees gave a massive sigh of relief to the students. The University will take INR 3700 as a one-time fee as compared to INR 8,100 that was collected previously. Apart from this, the course fees for each course also saw a reduction from INR 29,000 to INR 10,000.

A fee of INR 13,000 is fixed for PG courses that include Laboratory usage. These courses include bioscience and bioinformatics, mass communication and media technology, and natural resource management and geo-informatics. 

Vice-chancellor of the Khallikote University, AN Mishra stated the reason for this reduction as COVID circumstances. DUe to stagnant business situations, the reduction of the fees has taken place.

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Academicians Reaction to the Decision of Fees Reduction

Various academicians reacted in mixed responses, many showing acceptance while some showing the grudge against the decision.

Many academicians mentioned that the University has not even established itself and the decision will not result in its personal benefit. The University came into existence for its PG courses in 2018-19. During this period, many educational institutions demanded a low fee structure to attract students. 

The University tried to take a step forward by participating in CUCET (Central Universities Common Entrance Test), 2020 that ended on September 20 for the selection of students. CUCET 2020 was conducted for 3days from September 18 to 21 in offline mode with the OMR sheet test. 

CUCET is an entrance exam that provides admission to various Integrated/Under-Graduate, Post Graduate and Research Programmes in several Central Universities and State Universities of India.

The University has tried different modes to bring new admissions. Since they took admissions after evaluating the scorecards from different entrance tests, they have focussed on taking a fixed number of students from different courses. This will ensure smooth and organized coordination in the admission process.

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“We have decided to take 50% of the total student strength from the CUCET this time, while the remaining 50% from the common PG entrance examination of the Odisha universities,” said Mishra. Furthermore, he laid down the detailed selection process for the admission.

In his words, these initiatives are taken to help students and their families in hard times like COVID. The reduction in fees will help them financially in an indirect way. 

Khallikote University is a cluster University in Berhampur, Odisha established in 2015. The University aims to offer quality education to students in various Postgraduate fields. It provides 6 PG courses including MSc. and MBA among many others.