A little more than necessary

When G. Prem of Ammapet, Salem, went to an auxiliary university in Kondalampatti, Salem Corporation, he was told to pay Rs 100 for the application form and pay an annual fee of Rs 6,000. The government has fixed the annual fee of Rs 1,592 for the bachelor’s degree program applied for by Mr PERM. He said the university website was not updated. “It only shows the fee structure of 2022-23, which is Rs 900 per year,” Mr Prem said.

Tiruchi’s parents had similar experiences. Based on their imprint, students purchased admission forms on at least three topics at Shift II (universities made two transfers, one in the morning and one in the afternoon). Although my son wanted to apply for visual communication only, we ended up with suggestions from geographical location, history and mathematics, and in temporary cases, my choices were all included. My choice is temporary. More forms for sale appear to be new currency payers for private universities. “He said. A Chennai parent said his daughter applied to two major universities in the city. She paid Rs 500 and Rs 400 as application fees. A friend of hers paid a rise in a university on the outskirts of a city.

No receipt

The president of a prestigious College of Arts and Sciences in Coimbatore admitted that receipts for application or registration fees were not issued. Bureau of University Education (DCE) officials acknowledged that there is no mechanism to ensure self-help universities comply with government orders. Coimbatore scholars say there are obvious signs that universities are deviating from application and registration fee norms.

During the admission season, parents must reserve only a few thousand rupees for applications. Then, they have to scrape together the funds needed to pay for the tuition. Some auxiliary universities allow students to use common application forms for self-financing programs; however, at a female university in the city, separate application forms must be submitted for each program.

Meanwhile, Bharathiar University recently notified that the registration fee for graduate admission is Rs 400 and must be submitted online to each subject. For the scheduled caste and scheduled tribal candidates, the fee is Rs 200 per subject. A senior professor at the university said students can charge Nivaran Cell fees based on the University Grants Committee’s E-Samadhaan platform to refund any excess fees.

A professor at Madurai Kamaraj University said the charging problem has been around for years. “This becomes a problem only if there is a strong opposition from students or associations.” He said that when establishing private universities, the regulations should have been formulated with regulations on public needs. The online application process claimed by private universities does not seem to address the issue. “When government fixed fees are mentioned in the application, students will be paid for the remaining amount the university intends to charge during the later stages of admission,” the professor said.

He asked what can be done after the process when the government fails to seriously address the issue. The government will only talk about the audit report when it reveals problems.

“Calculate excess fees”

At the recent budget meeting, the report of the Auditor General of Higher Education (CAG) proposed in Parliament to the Director of the University Education Bureau to ensure that self-sufficiency universities comply with their instructions on their application fees.

The CAG report shows that some auxiliary arts and science colleges earn more money than the government has determined. The report said that during the 2021-2024 period, some universities charged Rs 5 million for application fees. Some universities also collect a large amount of processing fees, while the government determined that Rs 48 is the application fee and €2 is the registration fee. The planned caste and the planned tribal candidates only pay the registration fee. According to the audit report, some universities even charge application fees from these students. The report lists these universities, including the Pachaiyappa College in Chennai. The report said the college charged Rs 2,14,678. The report has recommended that regional joint directors of university education calculate the excess fees charged and request a refund from the university.

A faculty member of the college said that for more than a decade the institution has charged Rs 100 for Shift II students, with no concessions on the scheduled caste and scheduled tribal categories.

But, teachers say most universities except government agencies violate the rules. The Teachers Association wants the Ministry of Higher Education to ensure that universities do not charge fees other than government-mandated fees. The professor added that paying Rs 100 or more may not be a problem for students who wish to join the program. They noted that the report cites only a few universities, but almost all auxiliary and private universities are overcharging. “Some disgruntled students or a group of people in colleges will spread information and someone will file a complaint,” said a government college official.

V. Kalaiselvi, co-director of the Regional Education of Coimbatore University, is responsible for 20 governments and 17 confident universities, said that through the notice, all universities are required to charge only designated fees and refund the excess fees. However, self-help universities say they have not received any guidance from the government to submit their action reports.

Denied university

Tamil Nadu self-funded Ajeet Kumar Lal Mohan, president of the Association of Colleges of Arts, Sciences and Management, said he has seen trends in the college – allowing students to download free applications. He said the college only charges the course fee when submitting the form to fill out.

Saravanakumar, secretary of the District VII of the University Teachers Association, said there was no report on the charges of excess fees from auxiliary universities.

A private university in Neikarapatti, Salem, co-director of the college’s education regionally, then allegedly charged about Rs 10,000 as ended by the CAG report. The college refused to charge excess fees and filed an error in the appeal report. It argues that the audit mistakenly mentions the fees charged are the application and processing fees.

Faculty and staff at a self-help college in Tiruchi said that self-financing courses are more expensive this year due to the rate hikes in teachers in Shift II. “Enterprise teachers in the self-financing sector earn as much as Rs 25,000 per month, while regular stream staff are not receiving any salary despite their long service. This is unfair to those who have worked in the same institution for a long time.”

The state convener of Makkal Kalvi Kootiyakkam and former member of Madurai Kamaraj University Group, said the CAG report was not surprising. He noted that the Ministry of Higher Education has no control over self-financing universities. A few years ago, Madura College refunded Rs 200 to students a few years after completing the course. He recalled that university administrators decided to mistakenly collect it. As record maintenance improves, universities have no excuses to retain excess fees. He said universities should be held accountable and the government can avoid embarrassment by establishing a mechanism to correct complaints.

K. Ibrahim, state president of All India Student Union, blames the trend on the craze for certain courses. “The cost of accepting B.com a few years ago was around Rs 2,500. Today, with the boom of B.com, many universities charge over Rs 20,000, as admission fees for the course are considered to guarantee work. Admissions to humanities courses have increased. Private universities are exploiting parents’ despair, and these people say it is their succumb to children’s despair. Federal plans to protest against high fee collections in June. He added: “May and June are both stressful months for those who make money every day.” They turn to donors to raise the amount needed for their children’s education. ”

This school year, a student who attended a university in Tiruchi said that self-sufficiency universities cost more than their first class classes. “I can get a BBA in II, but the fee is ₹24,000. My father works as a store assistant and my mother is an assistant to the kitchen for lunch meal planning. We will have to arrange funds from external sources to pay for the semester,” he said.

Requires transparency

Pavislan of the Salem Regional Secretary India Federation (SFI)

“We need a transparent online application system, centralized fees and regular audits of affiliates,” said A. Balu, president of the Tamil Nadu Association of Intellectuals and Faculty (TAIF). He said that digital payment tracking or application databases can help return excess money to students. K. Pandiyan, former president of the University Teachers Association, also called for a mechanism to report excess fees. “So far, two committees have been led by retired judges to determine the costs, but they have not played a role,” he said.

Faculty calls for amendment to the Tamil Nadu Private University (Regulations) Act, as well as the general admission guidelines for private, auxiliary and self-sufficiency colleges in 1978. Mr Pandiyan added: “Currently, anyone in the higher education sector, including regional joint directors of university education or regional directors of university education bureaus – recognizes the excess fees charged.”

((The input of Nahla Nainar from Tiruchi; Palanivel Rajan of Madurai; M. Sabari of Salem; and R. Krishnamoorthy of Coimbatore.)