Private Engineering College charges high fees for BBA and BCA courses, violating VTU orders, accusing students and parents of

Parents say the charge demand is outrageous and if questions are asked, university administrators ask them to find seats elsewhere. |Picture source: File Photo

Although Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU) guidelines limit the fees for a Bachelor’s Degree in Business School (BBA) and the Bachelor’s of Computer Applications (BCA) offered by the School of Engineering, parents and students claim that many universities have charged multiple fees that exceed the prescription fee limit.

While VTU has limited the fees for these courses to Rs 50,000 for private engineering colleges, several private engineering colleges have a cost of up to Rs 250,000 to Rs 3 lakh. Many pointed out that this is much higher than the fixed fee for government quota engineering seats for private universities, fixed at Rs 1.7 lakh for 2024-25.

Earlier, the School of Engineering did not allow BBA and BCA courses. But the All-India Council on Technical Education (AICTE) allows engineering colleges to have good infrastructure, including buildings, teaching staff and other resources, to offer these courses from 2024-25. Since admission to these courses is not completed through the General Entrance Examination (CET), many universities are taking students to the university level exam.

All engineering colleges in the state are affiliated with the course, with two orders issued over the past week limiting the cost of these courses in VTU’s private engineering colleges. Under these orders, annual registration and other fees have been capped at Rs 5,020, tuition fees for Karnataka and non-Karnataka students are 45,000, and ₹50,000 for Foreign Nationals and Non-resident Indians (NRIs) students.

“I have decided to admit my son for a BCA course in a prestigious engineering college in the city. He has also scored good marks in the internal examination conducted by the college. However, the college has prescribed a fee of ₹2.5 lakh, which is outrageous. If you question the high fee, the management is asking us to go elsewhere,” complained Venkatesh, a parent from Bengaluru.

“A engineering college working under a prestigious private university requires students to pay Rs 2.3 lakh for this year’s BBA course. Private engineering colleges have more fees than engineering courses. The government should also bring the fee adjustment into the degree course.