The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fee structure adds to worries of students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 19, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fee structure adds to worries of students

K. Ramachandran

Each college touts its own rates

CHENNAI: : Aspirants to professional courses in Tamil Nadu, who eagerly await the outcome of the litigation over the Government's decision to do away with the entrance examination, have another worry: the fee structure for the professional colleges, especially engineering colleges, remains undecided.

Students and parents complain that each college is touting its own fees for tuition, transport, food, accessories, use of the Internet or add-on courses.

The Justice A. Raman Committee, mandated by the Supreme Court (in the Islamic Academy of education case) to fix a rational fee structure for professional education after going through a specific procedure, is working out the modalities. In June 2004, the committee fixed a fee structure of Rs.32,000 for non-accredited engineering courses and Rs.40,000 for those offering accredited courses.

However, the managements of some colleges appealed to the Committee last year seeking a review of the order. Their appeals are still pending. In such a situation, these colleges wonder what will be the rates they could quote now.

"No longer can we quote rates without justifying. Parents have a choice of colleges and seats on offer are more than the demand; it is a buyers' market. We again appeal to the committee to consider our plea before the colleges reopen for the academic year," says the secretary of a college near Coimbatore.

The head of an institution in Salem says the committee should work out the cost of running an institution, including the need for constant upgrade of software and hardware, and then fix the fee.

Sources in the Government, however, say the committee had, indeed, deliberated upon fee structure revision even a few days ago.

However, it was felt that the members would have to visit the colleges which had preferred the appeal, look at their accounts and costing procedures, appraise their infrastructure and other needs before deciding on any revision.

The All-India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association has sought an audience with Mr. Justice Raman on Sunday. In a written plea, the association has urged him to await the Supreme Court's verdict on the demand of the unaided colleges for freedom to fix their own fee structure.

Otherwise, the association wanted Rs. 90, 000 fixed as annual fee for engineering courses.

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