SC okays fee increase in engineering colleges

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The SC on Wednesday gave its approval for enhancing fees in engineering colleges for the academic year 2012-13, provided they submit their statement of accounts to the Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC).

The AFRC had proposed a fee hike ranging from 7 to 64 per cent to different colleges depending upon the expenses on their infrastructure, including the salary hike for the teaching and non-teaching staff as per the AICTE VI pay scales in 2010.

A bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Gokhale and Tarun Gogoi in an interim order said that the fee hike would be allowed by colleges which would furnish an undertaking within a week that they would implement AICTE pay scales.

Besides, there were recommendations of the Ninth pay regulation commission of AP and the colleges have the option to implement either of the two.

After furnishing the undertaking to the top court, the colleges were asked to submit their statement of accounts to the AFRC, which would decide the hike percentage for a particular college accordingly, the bench said.

“In many developed countries education is considered an act of charity but it seems that in India it has become a business,” the bench observed while asking a battery of lawyer appearing for different colleges to ask their clients to 'introspect' and not to make it a source of profit.

Meanwhile, college managements are planning to seek a big fee hike for B.Tech, MBA and MCA courses following the SC orders. The colleges are now planning to seek a uniform fee ranging from Rs66,000 to Rs90,000 per annum for both convenor and management quota seats.

At present, the fee for B.Tech in convenor quota (70 per cent category-A seats) is Rs31,000 per annum, while it is Rs95,000 for management quota (30 per cent category-B seats). Similarly, it is Rs27,000 and Rs78,000 respectively in the case of MBA/MCA courses.