AC Repair in St. Stephen, SC

St Stephen’s College 2025-26 fees spark controversy as first-year students are asked to pay DU and college fees separately. The college lists DU fees over three times higher than the official Rs 3,500 share, raising compliance concerns. With total semester fees nearing Rs 30,000, students and DU officials question transparency under the dual-payment system.

St Stephen's College, one of Delhi University's premier affiliated institutions, has found itself in the midst of a fee controversy. For the academic year 2025-26, the college has asked its first-year students to pay the university and college fees separately, a so-called dual-payment system that appears to violate DU’s established single-portal payment rules. Even more startling, the ‘DU fee’ component listed by the college is more than three times the university's official share, prompting questions about compliance and transparency.According to the fee notice seen by the Times of India, first-year students in most programmes, including B.A. (Programme/Honours) and B.Sc. (Honours in Physics and Chemistry), are charged between Rs 11,551 and Rs 11,630 as the DU fee. Officially, DU’s annual share is Rs 3,500, leaving an apparent overcharge exceeding Rs 8,000 per student — a staggering 230% excess. With roughly 400 students in the first-year intake, this amounts to an extra Rs 32 lakh effectively paid to the university, though it remains unclear if these funds have been transferred directly or temporarily retained by the college, TNN reports.For students under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, the DU fee is listed at Rs 1,150, against the university’s official Rs 875 — a 31% increase. Meanwhile, the college fee ranges from Rs 17,500 to Rs 19,000 per semester. Taken together, the total payable amount for a standard BA or BSc programme approaches Rs 30,000 per semester, significantly higher than first-year fees at comparable DU colleges, such as Miranda House with Rs 16,000–20,000 annually and Ramjas College with Rs 15,000–17,000 annually, TOI found.

St Stephen's college fee structure 2025-26

To give readers a clear picture, here is the detailed fee structure for first-year students across categories at St Stephen’s College for 2025-26.

College’s rationale and university response

Haneet Gandhi, Dean of Admissions at Delhi University, told TOI, “There is only one payment system. Students are required to pay their fees through the DU portal, from which the university keeps its share and transfers the rest to colleges. No other medium of payment can be created as per rules.” Gandhi confirmed that the university's official share was Rs 3,500 and called the excess listed by the college “the college’s fault.”According to Gandhi, DU has already transferred 60% of the college’s share from the total fees collected, including the inflated DU component. This indicates that the extra Rs 32 lakh paid as part of the DU fee may ultimately remain with the college rather than the university.Chinkhanlun Guite, Bursar and Public Relations Officer at St Stephen's, in an interaction with TOI, said, “It was done for the convenience of students.” When asked whether the college had sought DU’s permission for the separate system, he replied “No such permission is required,” and declined to comment on the nearly threefold DU fee listed. Repeated calls to Principal John Varghese went unanswered.The controversy highlights longstanding tensions between St Stephen's and DU over administrative autonomy. While the college cites its minority status to defend internal procedures, including separate interviews for applicants, DU insists that affiliated colleges adhere strictly to common regulations. As students pay hefty sums upfront, it underscores the need for clarity in how premier institutions communicate costs.