New Delhi: According to a report in the Indian Express, the three-member panel that was constituted by the HRD ministry to look into the fee hike issue has recommended that there be “no alteration of fees during the middle of the academic session” and that another option to find funds be looked at.The committee was appointed on November 17, after several weeks of agitations by JNU students against the hostel fee hike.On November 26, the panel submitted its report to the HRD ministry. According to the Indian Express, the recommendations of the three-member committee have not been taken into consideration yet.The committee, comprising former University Grants Commission chairperson V.S. Chauhan, UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain and All India Council for Technical Education Chairperson Anil Sahasrabudhe, was given a mandate to open a “dialogue with all stakeholders and to advise the university administration on the resolution of contentious issues”.Also read: The JNU Fee Hike Affects Students with Disabilities More Than We RealiseThe committee held meetings with JNU student leaders, teachers and deans before filing its report.The draft hostel manual that was circulated on October 4 showed that the hostel mess security deposit had been increased to Rs 12,000 from Rs 5,500. In addition, the authorities proposed to increase hostel fees from Rs 20 to Rs 600 for a single room, and from Rs 10 to Rs 300 for a shared room. Students would also have to pay Rs 1,700 for maintenance services.Also read: JNU Students: You Are Our Only HopeThe revision that students are opposing includes new heads of charges – namely utility and service charges – and the major part of the increase in fees is through these heads. JNUTA believes that by levying hefty fee hikes, the university wants to shift the expenditures that have till now been its responsibility, including the salaries of hostel staff, on to the students.After weeks of protests at the campus and in Delhi, a committee set up by the university had decided to give a 50% concession to all students and 75% concession to Below Poverty Line (BPL) students.The committee had also recommended that MHRD or UGC provide funds to meet the shortfall “due to which the JNU administration had to resort to the revision of hostel fee”.