IITM BS Fee Complaints: What Is Official and What Is Rumour

Many IITM BS fee complaints are about real, documented changes. These include the January 2026 fee revision, the new income check for fee waivers, and charges such as RKA, repeat fees and the alumni card. Other claims seen in student forums could not be confirmed from any official document. These include large surplus figures, big fixed deposits, a separate activity fee, and a verification fee being charged and then dropped. This post separates the two and shows you where to check.

Quick check: official or not?

The January 2026 fee revision (official)

This one is real. For Data Science students who join the foundation level from January 2026, the foundation fee went from Rs 32,000 to Rs 48,000. The full BS used to cost Rs 3,25,000 to Rs 3,87,000 in the old handbook table. It now costs Rs 3,86,000 to Rs 4,50,000. Students who joined up to September 2025 stay on the old fees. ES fees rose much less, from Rs 5,74,000 to Rs 5,80,000 for the full degree.

Some students feel the rise is steep, especially the 50% jump at the foundation level. That is an opinion. The numbers themselves are official. The fee pages do not give a reason for the change. Full tables are in the 2026 fee revision compared.

The income check for fee waivers (official)

From the January 2026 term, diploma and degree students who claim a waiver based on family income must submit ITR and/or Form 26AS. The handbook's stated reason is that a large number of students had not given proper income documents when claiming waivers. If the documents are rejected, the waiver is withdrawn and you pay fees for your economic category.

The confusion is about the fee for this check.

• Official: the DS and ES fee pages say a nominal fee may be charged at the diploma and degree levels for this extra check.
• Official: the ES handbook names Rs 1,000, not refunded whatever the result. The DS handbook has the same notice but no amount.
• Unverified: some students say the fee was collected and later withdrawn. We found no official notice either way.

Check your own dashboard to see what is being asked of you. The steps are in the income verification guide.

Extra charges (official)

RKA for skipped terms, readmission, repeat and make-up exam fees, improvement fees, drop charges, re-entry exam fees and the alumni card are all written in the handbooks. People may disagree about whether they are fair, but they are not hidden. Each one, with its amount, is in extra IITM BS costs.

Surplus and fixed deposit claims (unverified)

Some forum posts claim, from their own reading of audit statements, that the programme earns a large surplus or holds large fixed deposits. We have not verified these claims, so we do not repeat the figures. We also found no official statement that responds to them.

You can look at the primary documents yourself. IIT Madras publishes its audited accounts at iitm.ac.in/annual-accounts. As of September 2026, that page lists accounts from 2013-14 to 2024-25. When you read them:

• Remember they cover the whole institute. A figure may not belong to the BS programme alone.
• Check whether a number is for one year or has built up over many years.
• Read the notes next to a figure before you draw a conclusion.

Activity fee claims (unverified)

Some students say a small student activity fee is collected each term. We found no such fee in either handbook or on the fee pages. If you see a charge you do not recognise at registration, ask support what it is for.

Where to raise a fee complaint

The handbook (updated 18 June 2026) sets out an escalation path:

1. Raise a support ticket and wait at least 24 hours.
2. If there is no reply, follow up on the same ticket.
3. If it is still not solved, escalate step by step: two levels of programme staff, then the BS Degree Program Coordinators, then the Dean (Academics), then the Director.

Always quote your ticket number. The handbook says escalations without a ticket may not be taken up. The contact details are in support tickets and the escalation matrix.

Common questions

Will my fees go up in the middle of my degree?

The fee pages say the revised fees are for students who join the foundation level from January 2026. They do not describe moving existing students to the new rates. Rules can still change, so read each term's registration page.

Did IIT Madras withdraw the verification fee?

We could not confirm this either way. The fee pages still say a nominal fee may be charged, and the ES handbook still names Rs 1,000.

Is there a separate public account for the BS programme?

We did not find one. The audited accounts on the IIT Madras website are for the whole institute.

Is the IITM BS a scam because of these fees?

High or rising fees are a question of value, not of whether the degree is real. We look at that question in is IITM BS a scam.