The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Capitation fee is redundant”

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Monday, Jun 27, 2011
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Capitation fee is redundant”

— Photo: K. Ganesan

S.S. Chandrasekaran.

He first came out with a matrix on fee collection for engineering courses by self-financing institutions in 1998. His intention was to demonstrate that there was no need to collect capitation fee for admission. He also argued that it would be possible to refund a portion of the fee back to students on completion of their courses. After 13 years, S. S. Chandrasekaran, former Vice-Principal, Tamil Nadu Government Polytechnic College, reaffirms in a talk with S. Annamalai that it will still be possible to refund a portion of the fee.

In his 1998 calculations, which were submitted to the high-level committee formed at that time for fixing fee structure for self-financing engineering college, under B. Elango, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathiar University, Mr. Chandrasekaran had worked out that a new college would be in a position to save a minimum of Rs 1.94 crore from the sixth year, after providing for cost of land and buildings, salaries and amenities.

“Today, the fee structure has gone up manifold. The 1998 calculation was made for four branches, with 60 students for each branch. The assumed teacher-student ratio was 1:20. Now, the number of branches has gone up and so is the class strength and fee structure.

At the same time, salaries, land value and cost of construction have gone up phenomenally. Still it should be possible to refund a sizeable sum to the student at the end of the fourth year,” he argues.

Mr. Chandrasekaran believes that a self-financing engineering college, with basic infrastructure, should be in a position to have residual revenue from its sixth year.

In that case, “there is no need for collecting capitation fee.” “The government should study the situation now and come out with a solution (for those who are unable to pay capitation fee) in the interest of students.”

The engineer, who graduated from Thiagarajar College of Engineering in 1963, now concentrates on propagation of a system called ‘astro bio medicine,' which combines astrology and the theory of Wilhelm Heinrick Schüssler, a German medical doctor of Oldenburg, who said that any disturbance in the molecular motion of 12 cell salts in living tissues, caused by a deficiency in the requisite amount, constituted disease, which could be rectified and the requisite equilibrium re-established by administering the same mineral salts in small quantities.

How to live hale and hearty

“Follow bio medicine to live hale and hearty,” says Mr. Chandrasekaran, who advocates adoption of this branch in medical and engineering courses. “We should create bio doctors. I want youngsters to take a vow to lead a safe and happy life.” The former professor feels that he is “growing young” by taking appropriate salts.

He is able to climb up and down three floors twice in about 10 minutes at the age of 72.

He equates bio medicine with traditional healing (‘paatti vaidhyam').

“My mission is to generate disciplined bio medical engineers and bio doctors to serve the society.”

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