Gour Banga University (GBU) authorities in Malda have decided to revise the session fees for postgraduate students in response to protests against the fee hike that was announced in 2024.

The decision was announced within 24 hours of the appointment of the new vice-chancellor, Ashis Bhattacharjee, who assumed his office on November 18.

Bhattacharjee had indicated that resolving the stalemate over postgraduate session fee hike — which had triggered student agitation — would be one of his top priorities.

On Wednesday, the new VC held a meeting with deans, heads of various postgraduate departments and other senior officials.

A notification signed by deputy registrar (additional charge) Rajib Patitundi stated that the session fees for the second, third and fourth semesters—for lab-based and non-lab-based subjects—would be reduced by ₹1,200 per student.

Session fees for non-lab subjects will now be ₹3,600 instead of ₹4,800, while fees for lab-based subjects will be ₹5,600 instead of ₹6,800.

Students will pay the revised fees during admissions for the new semesters, which is scheduled from November 24 to 26.

On Thursday, Bhattacharjee also held a meeting with principals of colleges affiliated to the varsity.

After the meeting, GBU released the results of the second and fourth semester undergraduate examinations.

“About 98 per cent of examinees passed in the undergraduate semesters,” said Biswarup Sarkar, the controller of examinations at GBU.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Bhattacharjee said: “The postgraduate fee issue delayed the academic session by nearly five months. So, resolving the issue was our priority. The position of VC was also vacant. Now we are trying to address and resolve problems in the interest of GBU and its overall development.”