The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : State wants to continue with arrangement for fee structure

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Friday, Mar 06, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

State wants to continue with arrangement for fee structure

B.S. Ramesh

‘Consensual agreement to protect interests of the weaker sections of society’
‘Fees fixed by the erstwhile Fee Fixation Committees very high’

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Government wants to continue for at least two more years the consensual agreement it had entered into with managements of private professional colleges on fixing fee structure and admission norms for medical, engineering and dental courses. Besides, it is seriously considering refining and re-tuning the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fees) Act of 2006.

In an affidavit filed before the Karnataka High Court, Secretary to the Department of Education Srikanth said the State needs to continue with the existing consensual agreement with managements of private professional institutions for at least two more years before it can usher in the necessary amendments to enact a suitable law on admission of students and fee structure as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

The State has filed the affidavit before the court which is hearing more than 130 petitions challenging the consensus agreement it had entered into with private professional colleges. While the students want the colleges to collect fees as fixed by the erstwhile Fee Fixation Committee, the managements want an increase in the fee structure.

The State said it had enacted the law relating to regulation of admission and fee fixation in 2006 soon after the Supreme Court passed the judgment in the P.A. Inamdar case. The apex court had then directed governments to enact an appropriate law for admission of students to professional courses.

Though the State had made provisions relating to seat-sharing and fixing of the fees, it had decided to keep in abeyance the Act for 2006-07 and instead had entered into a consensual agreement with the managements of private institutions on the contentious issue of seat-sharing and fee fixation.

Defending the consensual agreement, the Government said that it was necessary to protect the interests of the weaker sections of society. It has said that only a minority of very rich students can afford to pay the very high fee structure and peruse courses in professional education.

It has termed as very high the fees fixed by the erstwhile Fee Fixation Committees. This committee was first headed by retired High Court Judge A.B. Murgod and then by another retired Judge Rangavittalachar. The committee had fixed fees for all professional courses commencing from 2004-05.

The State says it entered into a consensual agreement with private colleges for the academic years 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. It has not only defended the agreement but also justified it saying that the fee structure has enabled students from the poor and lower middle class to take up professional courses.

It has said that the agreement would continue this year also. It has also said that all necessary arrangements for holding the written test and counselling are already in place. It further says that if any other arrangement were to be put in place, it would need some more time and it would also disturb the already worked out schedule.

The affidavit says that the Government is not averse to being out and put in place an acceptable arrangement for the future. It, however, wants the current consensual agreement to continue for at least two more years.

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