UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC bars mid-term fee hike in professional courses

Q1. With reference to the Supreme Court's October 2026 ruling on fees charged by self-financing institutions for professional courses, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A periodic revision of fees that applies only to batches admitted in later years is not barred by the ruling.
  2. A fee increase imposed on an already-admitted batch midway through its course can be sustained only on narrow grounds, one of which is a change in statute.
  3. A rise in operating costs that the institution could have foreseen at the time of admission justifies raising the fee of a batch already enrolled.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Suppose a State fee-fixation committee delays its periodic review, so that cost increases are not recovered from a batch during the relevant period. In the light of the Supreme Court's October 2026 reasoning on fees in professional courses, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The institution may recover the shortfall by raising the fee of that same batch midway through its course.
  2. Leaving the shortfall unrecovered at the relevant time tends to shift the burden of those costs onto future batches.
  3. The committee's own delay does not by itself amount to an unforeseeable or extraordinary economic condition.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following statements about Article 29(2) of the Constitution of India: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It bars denial of admission on grounds only of religion, race, caste or language in an educational institution that receives aid out of State funds.
  2. It extends the same bar to a private institution that is neither maintained by the State nor receives any aid out of State funds.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A student's claim to affordable fees in a private engineering college cannot be founded directly on Article 21A of the Constitution.
  2. Article 21A was not part of the Constitution as originally adopted and was inserted later by a constitutional amendment.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Article 41 of the Constitution can be enforced in a court to compel the State to meet the cost of professional education for every student who seeks it.
  2. Article 21A leaves it to the State to determine, by law, the manner in which free and compulsory education is provided to children aged six to fourteen.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct