The Hindu : Karnataka News : Govt. urged to withdraw fee hike for job-oriented courses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Govt. urged to withdraw fee hike for job-oriented courses

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR, FEB. 8. The Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Tumkur, S. Shivanna, and the independent MLA from Gubbi, S.R. Srinivas, today assured a delegation of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) that they will persuade the Government to withdraw its orders hiking fees for job oriented courses (JOC).

They delegation told the MLAs that the admission fee has been raised to Rs. 1,280 from Rs. 300; examination fee Rs. 240 (Rs.65); supplementary examination Rs. 300 (Rs. 135); marks statement Rs. 2,600 (Rs. 300); and retotalling and correction Rs. 400 (Rs. 25).

Increasing costs

K. Dorairaj, Deputy Director of Pre-University Education, who is additionally entrusted with job-oriented education, told The Hindu that the Government hiked fees for job-oriented courses based on the increasing costs of conducting the courses, and holding examinations.

Prof. Dorairaj said he has apprised L. Nagaraja Murthy, Director of Vocational Education in Karnataka, of the growing resentment among the JOC students on the fee hike.

Defending the hiked fee structure, Prof. Dorairaj said the Government has been liberal in granting freeships and other kinds of financial support to students coming from the families within the bracket of "below poverty line."

In Tumkur district, he said, nearly 4,000 students are undergoing job-oriented courses in over 56 colleges.

Payment of salary

The president of the SFI district unit, Shobha, said teachers of job-oriented courses have not been paid their salaries for the past 18 months. They have also been worried over service security as their appointments are not made on a permanent basis.

She urged the Government to bestow its attention towards strengthening the JOC system, as it was mainly conceived to create big job potential.

Some students of JOC said the standard of instruction was affected because the teachers are posted on temporary basis.

Memorandum presented

The delegation, accompanied by the student representatives, met Malleshaiah, Assistant Commissioner (Headquarters), at the Deputy Commissioner's office and presented a memorandum addressed to Ramalinga Reddy, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, demanding that the order hiking the fees for the JOC be withdrawn.

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