The matter of extra fees being charged by engineering colleges has re-emerged with the start of admission for the academic year 2014-15.
As there were no clear definitions of extra fees, students will have to pay anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 for a government seat, depending on the institution, besides the prescribed fees.
The Karnataka State Professional Colleges Admission Monitoring Committee, headed by Prof S K Saidapur, of late issued directions to all the colleges, asking them to let know the details of “compulsory” and optional” fees on their respective website.
In addition, colleges should send a copy of the same to the committee. It clearly states that the “college shall not insist on payment of optional fees”. While some colleges have published the minutiae on their websites, others have not.
In quite a few colleges, all services are listed as compulsory. Apart from basic facilities such as library, sports and laboratories, some bizarre headings have been listed.
For example, an engineering college in Gadag has “Teachers’ Day Flag” as a heading for extra fees.
Red Cross fee, legal services, ‘CEO talks’ are some of the other heads that figure in the extra fee list of several colleges. Even government officials are unsure how to categorise them.
Higher Education Minister RV Deshpande merely said that if colleges were charging fees against the regulations, then students and parents could approach the Saidapur committee.
According to Prof Saidapur, if a college is charging fees for things which are not part of the curriculum, and a student wishes to eschew them, he/she can inform the committee.
They can also make a complaint if they feel that the college is not providing the service worth the money collected.
Prof Saidapur said it was practically not possible to redress the grievances by keeping the names anonymous.
“If students want the documents back or the money refunded, their names will have to be disclosed to the college management.”