What started as a gathering to protest the proposed 124% fee hike by CEPT University soon turned into an amiable discussion between parents and varsity authorities that yielded results that made both parties happy. Following talks between over 200 parents who gathered at the campus and the management, the fee for undergraduate courses in technology, design and architecture was reduced to Rs 2.5 lakh. This is a marked reduction from the proposed hike which ranged between Rs 3.10 lakh and Rs 3.50 lakh.

During the meeting held at the CEPT auditorium, the parents urged the varsity to reconsider its plans to hike fee as it would put undue financial pressure on them. One of the parents said, "I belong to a middle-income family and we are saving for my son's second- year fee through an FD. If the fee is hiked by almost Rs 2 lakh, it would be difficult for us to arrange for such a huge sum at a go."

The parents said that at the time of admission they had assumed the fee hike would be as per sanction of the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC). "But fee hike of almost Rs 2 lakh a year is too much," said another parent Rajiv Shah, a businessman. On their part, CEPT president Bimal Patel and Registrar Anita Hiranandani explained to the parents that since the government grant they received had been stopped as they became a self-financed institute, the fee hike was inevitable.

CEPT stopped receiving Rs 3.5 crore/ annum grant from Gujarat government after it decided to become an SFI. Finally, a middle path was arrived at. Patel told Mirror, "Parents at the meeting suggested that instead of putting the entire financial burden on them, the varsity should share it with them. So, we have worked out a formula where the financial burden on us due to unavailability of grant is shared partly by parents and partly by us. We have decided that the fee for the three courses will be fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh per annum.

He stated that the fee is inclusive of summer and winter courses students have to take up every year. "We do not wish to lose good students. So, true to CEPT culture, we decided to work out mutually agreeable fee through discussion," he added. Parents welcomed the decision. Rajiv Shah who was appointed main coordinator of the parents' group said, "They have reduced the fee and also given an option of paying it in installments. That is a great help."