Under the guise of incidental fees, some private engineering colleges have been caught charging more than government-mandated fees.
Updated – Thu, 12/12/22 at 11:35pm
Hyderabad: Under the guise of incidental fees, some private engineering colleges have been caught charging more than government-mandated fees. This has come to light as several students knocked on the door of the Telangana Admissions and Fees Regulatory Commission (TAFRC).
The state government charges a fixed fee based on special service charges for 11 categories of students including University functions (Rs 75), health center services (Rs 100), reading room (Rs 25), college magazines (Rs 50), hobby center (Rs 25) , Student Handbook (Rs 25), Laboratory Fees (Rs 150), Library Fees (Rs 125), Computer and Internet Fees (Rs 250), Placement Room (Rs 125) and Games and Sports (Rs 50 ).
However, under the guise of the incidentals category, the college was found to charge for reading corners, transportation and dormitory fees even though students did not utilize these facilities of the college.
“During the hearing, the university showed us the fees they charged under the miscellaneous category. However, there was no such category in the fees. Each component of the fees charged had to be mentioned,” an official said.
So far, the committee has issued notifications to 26 colleges and in fact imposed fines of Rs 2 lakh per student on more than 20 colleges besides ensuring that excess fees are refunded to students.
The commission has warned universities that if every complaint lodged by students is substantiated, it will impose a hefty fine of Rs 2 lakh on the management.
It also clarified that the fine will be collected from the funds of the Telangana State Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Entrance Examination (TS EAMCET) convenor. Asked whether such punishment would take effect in court, the official said the committee meeting had passed a resolution.
Group Review Admissions
Meanwhile, the Telangana State Higher Education Commission has decided to form a special committee of professors to review admissions to private engineering colleges under managed quotas.
The committee was formed after the council received multiple complaints from parents and students that universities were not following merit when admitting students on managed quota places.
“The committee will review every complaint related to B-category admissions at private engineering colleges. Any deviation will be taken seriously,” an official said.
