Mumbai University has directed its affiliated and autonomous colleges to immediately refund examination fees in full to eligible students from 305 drought-affected talukas across Maharashtra, following the state government’s decision to provide fee relief for students from these areas during the 2026 kharif season.
The university issued the instruction through a circular on Friday, October 16, and told colleges to begin processing refunds from the same day. The order applies to eligible students across all faculties and covers examination fees already paid.
Colleges have also been instructed not to charge examination fees to eligible students who have not yet paid. While filling examination forms, students or college staff must select the “Drought Affected Talukars” category wherever the option is available on the university’s examination portal. Once the category is correctly recorded, the examination fee must be excluded from the calculation of mandatory fees.
The directive places responsibility for implementation on the individual colleges. Principals have been asked to personally monitor the refund process and ensure that every eligible student receives the full amount paid towards examination fees. Colleges must follow the list of institutions located in the designated drought-affected talukas while identifying beneficiaries.
The university has further directed colleges to maintain detailed records of refunds by faculty and individual student. After completing the exercise, each institution must submit a compliance report to the university’s Board of Examinations and Evaluation. The university has said that no eligible student’s refund should remain pending and that all affiliated and autonomous colleges must implement the instructions promptly.
The fee relief follows the Maharashtra government’s official decision to declare 305 talukas drought-affected in view of conditions during the 2026 kharif season. Mumbai University said it had initiated the refund process in accordance with that decision and instructed colleges to follow the government’s guidelines strictly.
The order creates two separate administrative obligations for colleges: refunding examination fees already collected from eligible students and preventing fresh fee collection from those who have not yet paid. The use of a designated category on the examination portal is intended to identify eligible students during form submission and ensure that the relief is reflected before fees are calculated.
For students and families in the designated talukas, the measure removes examination fees from the immediate cost of appearing for the relevant examinations. Its implementation will depend on colleges correctly identifying students, processing refunds, maintaining individual records and submitting compliance reports to the university. The next formal milestone is the completion of the refund exercise and submission of those reports to the Board of Examinations and Evaluation.
