As a sop for agreeing to the government’s common fee of Rs 35,000, managements of engineering colleges will get a free hand in allotting the 30 per cent management quota seats from this year. This means that the colleges can auction the seats and allot them to the highest bidder without fearing any backlash from the government or other regulatory bodies.
This is great news for the top 100 Engineering colleges in the state in which there are huge demands for management quota seats. They are now expected to charge anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh depending on the demand. Though the government had earlier threatened to conduct online admissions for management quota seats to check the sale of seats, college managements had secured an assurance during their meeting with CM N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha that the state would not interfere in the management quota admissions or the amount collected for the same.
As the state had to restrict the common fees to Rs 35,000 — a hike of just Rs 4,000 — to lessen its fee reimbursement burden, the free hand to allot management quota seats will come as a compensation for colleges. The effect of the "deal" is already visible with the managements suddenly jacking up seat prices and openly demanding donations. With the delay in Eamcet counselling, they have already collected the old management quota fees of Rs 95,000 from parents for “booking” seats in advance. They will now ask for donations ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh after the clarity came regarding the common fees.