The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Consumer court orders return of fees, certificates

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 17, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Consumer court orders return of fees, certificates

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI, DEC. 16. A consumer court has said that the practice of setting up educational institutions with false promises, and without proper affiliation and approval has to be curtailed and the promoters penalised.

Allowing a complaint by a student who discontinued a course and sought refund of tuition fees and return of original certificates on the ground that the institution was neither affiliated to Anna University nor did it have the State Government's approval, a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF) said the student was entitled to get back the fees and the certificates.

M. Mallika of Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh complained to the DCDRF, Tiruvallur, that she joined a Master of Computer Applications course in E.V.P. Engineering College, Chembarambakkam, Tiruvallur district, in 2002 and paid Rs. 22,500 towards tuition and hostel fees.

She later found that the college did not offer proper coaching, lacked even the minimum infrastructure facilities, was not affiliated to the Anna University and did not have clearance from the Government. She quit the college and sought refund of fees and the return of her educational certificates. As the college did not do so, she moved the Forum.

A Forum Bench, comprising P. Perumalappan, president and V. Narasingamoorthy and K. Tamilselvi, members, said that the college managementhad not bothered to answer the charges levelled against it, and ruled in favour of Ms. Mallika.

It awarded compensation of Rs.25,000 to Ms. Mallika with Rs.1,000 as costs, and directed the college to refund the fee amount of Rs.22,500 and return the original certificates.

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