St Stephen’s College Fee Hike 2025: Students to Pay Triple Delhi University Share Under New Dual-Payment System

St Stephen’s College has announced a new fee structure for the 2025–26 academic session, introducing a dual-payment system that has sparked sharp criticism from students and the academic community. The revision allegedly violates Delhi University’s (DU) one-portal payment policy and significantly inflates the DU component of the total fee.

Fee Hike Details and Overcharge Estimates

According to the official notice, first-year students are now required to pay between ₹11,551 and ₹11,630 as the DU component, nearly three times higher than the university’s standard annual share of ₹3,500.

This 230% increase translates to an excess of around ₹8,000 per student. With nearly 400 new students enrolled this year, the total overcharge is estimated at ₹32 lakh.

For students with disabilities (PwD), the college lists a DU component of ₹1,150, exceeding the official amount of ₹875, marking a 31% rise.

Dual-Payment Structure Explained

Under the revised system, students must make two separate payments:

1. Delhi University fee – payable via the official DU portal.

2. College fee – payable directly to St Stephen’s College after enrolment.

The college fee ranges between ₹17,500 and ₹19,000 per semester, taking the total cost for a BA or BSc programme to nearly ₹30,000 per semester for general-category students.

This marks a significant departure from DU’s centralized one-portal fee policy, which was implemented to streamline the process and ensure transparency.

Background: Ongoing Tensions with Delhi University

The fee controversy comes amid longstanding tensions between Delhi University and St Stephen’s College over administrative autonomy and adherence to university regulations.

The college has often asserted its independence, especially regarding admission procedures. Its decision to conduct separate interviews for applicants in previous years had already drawn criticism and sparked debates within the university community.

This latest move is expected to further intensify the ongoing rift between DU and St Stephen’s over governance and policy compliance.

Delhi University’s New Safety Advisory

Meanwhile, Delhi University has issued a new campus safety advisory to ensure the “safe, smooth, and orderly conduct of events and gatherings.”

The guidelines emphasize:

• Prior intimation to local police before events.

• Appointment of liaison officers for coordination.

• Crowd management measures and CCTV surveillance.

• Emergency response protocols and private security deployment.

The advisory follows the 2023 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) introduced after a Delhi High Court directive, which came in response to multiple security lapses during college festivals that left several students injured.

Conclusion

With its revised fee structure and ongoing administrative disputes, St Stephen’s College once again finds itself at the center of controversy. While the college maintains its autonomous stance, critics argue that the move undermines Delhi University’s centralized policies and burdens students with unnecessary financial strain.