Agartala: A sharp hike in Tripura's board exam fees has sent ripples beyond the classroom and into the political arena, where student organisations allied both with the opposition and the ruling BJP have demanded that it be rolled back or reconsidered.

With much of the population living in rural communities and the average annual income being Rs 1,76,943, thousands of families now face a new struggle, which is finding the money for exam fees that have jumped by as much as 200% in some cases.

The new fee structure, effective from October 10, raises the madhyamik (class 10) examination fee from Rs 120 to Rs 300 and the higher secondary (class 12) fee from Rs 150 to Rs 400, marking the first comprehensive revision since 2013 under the then-Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) government, though this represents the second hike under the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administration.

The announcement triggered an unprecedented wave of protests from student organisations across the political spectrum, including the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the Tribal Students Union (TSU), the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) as well as the Congress's youth wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bengali Chhatra Samaj.

‘We have no other way, can't do anything without causing discomfort’

While releasing the revised fee structure on October 9, the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE)'s president Dhananjay Gon Choudhury acknowledged the burden on families but defended the decision as unavoidable.

“The board's expenses have increased a lot, so we have no other way. Even though it causes trouble for some, we are sorry, we can't do anything without causing them discomfort. Besides, we had no other option,” Choudhury stated.

He added: “We know that those who are financially somewhat stable won't have any problem, but a part of the people will face some difficulty. However, this is not something too significant.”

Choudhury pointed out that the examination fees for CBSE class 10 and 12 board examinations were Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,100 respectively, and that among the northeastern states, the fee structure of the Tripura board remained relatively low. He mentioned that the board examination fee for both 10th and 12th classes in Mizoram is Rs 550, while the corresponding fee for Meghalaya and Assam is Rs 900.

Tripura chief minister Manik Saha while interacting with the media on October 11 defended the board's decision.

“This had to be done out of necessity. The price index is also increasing. The TBSE has increased the fees after a lot of thought. But even then, the increase is not much. I saw the officials on TV saying that the fees were lower than in other states,” he stated.

Science students face highest burden with per-subject practical fees

To understand the burden on families, the fee increases must be viewed against Tripura's economic reality. With a per capita income of Rs 176,943, a family sending one child for their madhyamik examination will now spend Rs 300 on examination fees alone, not including practical fees, centre fees and other associated costs.

For a student opting for science, commerce or arts subjects at the higher secondary level, their examination fee will now be Rs 400. Science students must pay an additional Rs 75 per subject for practical examinations, and centre fees for all students will take the total even higher.

For families in rural areas, where the primary sector employs the majority of the workforce but contributes only 23% to the state domestic product, these increases represent a significant financial burden.

The fee structure that was followed until October 9 was originally released in 2013 during the CPI(M) regime, then partially revised in March 2021 during the BJP regime, with the latest revision released last week.

The registration fee for madhyamik students doubled from Rs 100 in 2013 to Rs 200 in 2025. For higher secondary students, it remained at Rs 200 over 2013-2025. The 2021 revision did not alter registration fees for either level.

The enrolment fee, which existed only at the higher secondary level, stood at Rs 100 in 2013, remained unchanged in 2021, but has been revised to Rs 200 in 2025.

The permission fee for ‘continuing’, ‘external’ or ‘single-subject’ candidates was Rs 100 for both levels in 2013. In 2021 it jumped to Rs 500 and remains there in 2025.

A new category of fees termed ‘eligibility cum permission for admission’ in class 11 did not exist in 2013 but appeared in 2021 at Rs 1,000 and continues at the same rate in 2025.

Examination fees for ‘regular’ candidates remained stagnant between 2013 and 2021 at Rs 120 for madhyamik and Rs 150 for higher secondary students. It is these fees that have been revised to Rs 300 and Rs 400 respectively.

The practical examination fee in 2013 was Rs 75 for up to four subjects combined. This remained unchanged in 2021, but has now been changed to Rs 75 per subject.

Centre fees for examination centres supervised by the TBSE was Rs 40 in 2013 for both levels, unchanged in 2021 but revised to Rs 80 in 2025. Similarly, centre fees for other centres was Rs 50 in 2013, unchanged in 2021 and revised to Rs 100 in 2025.

The fee for changing examination centres increased from Rs 150 in 2013 to Rs 500 in 2021 and has remained unchanged in this year's revision.

Verification of records cost Rs 100 per document in 2013. This was hiked to Rs 200 in 2021 and remains so in 2025.

Correction of documents cost Rs 50 per document in 2013, a charge that was revised to Rs 200 in 2021 – marking a 300% increase – but left unchanged in 2025.

Review of answer scripts per paper cost Rs 130 in 2013. This fee remained unchanged in 2021 but has been raised to Rs 200 in 2025.

The fee for ‘self-inspection of answer scripts’ has remained constant at Rs 500 per paper since 2013.

Duplicate documents present the most complex revision. For procuring duplicates of documents up to five years old, fees ranged from Rs 90 to Rs 130 per document depending on its type for ordinary requests and Rs 110 to Rs 150 for urgent requests in 2013.

In 2021, this was simplified to Rs 250 per document for certificates up to five years old and Rs 500 for those more than five years old. In 2025, the structure has further been refined to Rs 250 per document up to five years old, Rs 500 per document between five and ten years old, and a new, higher slab of Rs 1,000 for documents more than ten years old.

The average increase in fees between 2013 and 2021 was approximately 177%, while from 2013 to 2025 it stands at around 277%.

‘If people are educated, BJP politics cannot go forward’: Tripura LoP

Speaking with The Wire, CPI(M) politburo member and leader of the opposition in Tripura Jitendra Chaudhury condemned the fee increase on behalf of his party and said: “I would say this is overall against the state's education system, and by adopting a long-term plan to push the development of this state backwards has this BJP-led government undertaken this initiative.”

“The government has no initiative for the qualitative improvement of the education system in this state,” he added.

He further said that although it is said the board is independent, fee increases do not happen without the government's support and consent.

“For years, there has been a shortage of teachers from the primary level to the university level,” Chaudhury said. On top of this, the government makes a “mockery” of the situation from time to time by issuing advertisements for job fairs that he suggested only lead to small-time work.

“But the government has no headache about the overall state of education. Because if people are educated, they will be aware. Then the politics and political philosophy of the BJP cannot be taken forward. That is why the government wants to destroy the future generation in a very planned way,” he alleged.

‘Government spends lakhs on publicity, no money for education’: SFI

Left student organisations SFI and TSU called a demonstration in Agartala on October 10 in protest against the fee hike and student activists staged a sit-in.

The student leaders alleged that while the state government spends lakhs of rupees on various publicity campaigns, it has no money to spend on the education sector.

SFI Tripura state secretary Srijan Deb said: “The prime minister and the ruling party are repeatedly advertising that due to the reduction in GST, the money required for education will decrease, but our state government has doubled or tripled the fee it collects.”

“On the one hand, the government is saying that due to the reduction in GST, the prices of goods have decreased, and on the other hand, the TBSE is saying that due to the increase in the prices of goods, fees must be collected from students. Now regarding this, our organisation will build a movement throughout the state,” he said.

“The struggle of the SFI will continue to save the state from the demon government. On the one hand, during Durga Puja, the government put up thousands of posters throughout the state via the education department and various other departments, and now they are saying they don't have money and that they will run the department by collecting extra fees from students.”

‘Education is everyone's right’: ABVP demands reconsideration

In an unusual development, the ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP, has also voiced opposition to the fee hike. The ABVP held a protest on October 10 and its leaders submitted a memorandum to the TBSE president demanding that the rate of fee increase be reduced.

The memorandum stated that the increase in the madhyamik and higher secondary examination fees would create additional financial pressure on students. For this, the Union and state governments must take immediate action to reduce the fees, it said.

The student leaders wrote in their memorandum: “Education is everyone's right, and it is not desirable at all for the path of education to be blocked due to money. Therefore, we are demanding an immediate reconsideration of the examination fee increase.”

Youth Congress, NSUI gear up for demonstrations; AISEC charges government with abdication

Speaking with The Wire, Tripura pradesh Youth Congress president Neel Kamal Saha said that his outfit as well as the NSUI were preparing to protest the TBSE's fee hike.

The All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) held a press conference at the Agartala Press Club on October 11 to announce their opposition strategy.

While addressing the media, Arun Bhowmik, vice president of the AISEC's Tripura state committee, said: “The number of dropouts in government schools is increasing day by day. Many poor students are being forced to leave Vidyajyoti schools [state-run English medium schools where the CBSE curriculum is taught] because they cannot pay the fees.”

He continued: “In this situation, instead of paying attention to the improvement of the quality of education, the board has suddenly introduced this massive fee increase and brought a huge attack on the student community. Where it was the government's duty to take education to everyone by increasing allocation for the education sector in the state budget, there the government has increased fees multiple times in the education sector from the school level to the higher education level through the National Education Policy 2020.

“In this way, the government is shedding its responsibility towards education and opening the path to privatisation.”

Similarly, the Bengali Chhatra Samaj also released a press statement criticising the decision. The organisation has called for an immediate rollback of the fee hike, arguing that it places an unfair burden on students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

“This government came to power promising a revolution in education, free mobile phones for students and 50,000 jobs every year – but all those promises have turned out to be false and misleading. Instead of an educational revolution, nearly 2,000 schools have been shut down in Tripura, and thousands of posts remain vacant.

“Meanwhile, despite having degrees, educated youths are roaming the streets without jobs, while the government has given only around 20,000 jobs in the past several years,” it said.

It further said that “the government is spending crores on free rations to calm public anger, but when it comes to education, it claims there is no money”.

Pressure mounts as multiple organisations plan coordinated action

The fee revision has created an unusual political situation where student organisations affiliated with both the ruling and opposition parties have united in demanding a rollback. The fact that the ABVP has joined the protest alongside opposition-aligned groups like the SFI and the TSU indicates the extent of the concern over the impact the move will have on students.

The AISEC has announced plans to hold state-wide demonstrations against the decision and requested the public to organise mass protests.

With multiple organisations planning coordinated action and the opposition parties backing the student movements, the TBSE and state government face mounting pressure to reconsider the revision.

The controversy has also exposed tensions between economic necessity and educational accessibility in a state where a significant portion of the population depends on agriculture for livelihood even as the sector contributes a relatively small share to the state domestic product.

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