AICTE Extends Tuition Free Waiver Scheme To Postgraduate Courses, 5 Per Cent Seats To Be Added For The Same

The All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) Tuition Fee Waiver (TFW) scheme will now be extended to postgraduate courses, reports The Indian Express.

Students from ‘economically weaker sections’ of society will now be eligible for a full tuition waiver, and five per cent supernumerary seats will be created for them in each course.

An official statement by the AICTE says, “It has been decided to extend the benefits for the TFW scheme to the meritorious students of economically poor background (students) pursuing MBA, MCA, PGDM, PGDCA, courses”. The TFW was previously only applicable for bachelors and diploma programmes.

The benefits of the TFW will be available to students coming from families with an annual income of less than Rs 6 lakhs. However, the scheme will only be available in AICTE affiliated colleges which don’t offer any other scholarships. As per the scheme, a maximum of five per cent seats will be created in addition to the existing seats in each course.

A caveat of the scholarship is that the students admitted to the stream will not be allowed to change their course or branch later on, unlike students who are admitted under the normal procedure.

The admission procedure for supernumerary seats will begin each year through a separate notification only after 30 per cent of the total course seats have been filled. An income statement will also have to be provided by the candidates seeking the scholarship.