Engg colleges seek fee hike

The proposals indicate that the new fee structure may be anywhere between minimum `1.8 lakh and `10.3 lakh for the four-year engineering course

Hyderabad: Parents may soon be forced to spend between Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 10.3 lakh on the four-year engineering course in Telangana as scores of private engineering colleges are silently working towards mobilising support from political classes in favour of increasing the tuition fee for engineering courses by almost 100 per cent.

Sources said that some engineering colleges which presently take a fee of Rs 1.2 lakh per annum have put forth proposals to hike it to Rs 2.59 lakh per annum to the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC). Some of these colleges have tried to justify their proposals by presenting ‘documentary’ evidence and calculation sheets for the convenience of the AFRC.

Private engineering college managements have justified their demand taking in to consideration inflation in the range of 10 to 15 per cent every year over the next three years. These colleges have categorised themselves in to three sections, based on the existing infrastructure, income and expenditure.

Some colleges have proposed for a minimum ceiling fee of Rs 45,000, while most of the other colleges have asked for Rs 75,000 and ‘above average colleges’ have asked for a fee of over Rs 1 lakh.

Sources said that some of the proposals submitted by these college managements to the committee indicate that parents and students would fork out anywhere between a minimum Rs 1.8 lakh and Rs 10.3 lakh to complete the four-year engineering course.

“Taking in to consideration inflation over the next three years, these colleges have proposed the new tuition fee. There about five to 10 colleges which have proposed for 100 per cent hike in the tuition fee,” said Telangana Private Engineering and Professional Colleges Managements Association President N Goutham Rao.

With the fee revision scheduled to be finalised before the start of the 2016-17 academic year, AFRC has invited professional colleges to submit online application forms with necessary proposals and also physical documentation. The last date for submission of forms ended on January 30. There are about 250 private engineering colleges in the state offering over 1.5 lakh seats.

According to sources, private engineering colleges with minimum infrastructure are likely to get 30 to 40 per cent hike in the fee. These colleges want AFRC to fix a minimum ceiling fee of Rs 45,000 for each course per annum. However, there may not be a ceiling fee this year.

Sources said that the fee was likely to be finalised based on the supporting documents submitted by these colleges. Any increase in the fee would not only burden the middle class, but also pose a huge burden on government exchequer, given the state government’s promise to reimburse the tuition fee of students from economically weaker sections.

Presently, the government gives cent per cent reimbursement for students who secure rank below 10,000 in Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (Eamcet). The government is yet to release the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 fee reimbursement arrears. “The government is planning to clear all pending dues by the end of March 2016,” Rao said.

As many as 1,148 professional colleges have applied for revision of the tuition fee. The AFRC has clarified that colleges that do not submit applications would not be listed in the counseling process during the next academic year.