Anantapur: Many colleges default on fee to JNTU

Anantapur: Engineering colleges affiliated to Jawarharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU A) are unwilling to clear their fee dues to the university even though they have received fee reimbursements from the government. The colleges have to pay Rs 2,000 towards university fund and other fees per student to the university every year. However, several colleges have not been paying these fees to the varsity. Most of the engineering colleges are run by political leaders, so the university officials are unable to force them to clear dues. Sources in the university say interference by political leader has been coming the way of collecting dues from managements

According to JNTU-A officials, around Rs 150 crore is due from the affiliated colleges. Routine notices will be issued to all the default colleges. Affiliation fee will be collected from each student is Rs 175 as it is 0.5 per cent of the annual tuition fee. Now, as tuition fees are different for each college, 0.5 per cent has become the basis for the affiliation fee instead of earlier Rs 175. This fee is in addition to the common services fee collected from each student and paid to the varsity. While in the first year it is Rs 2,000, from second year onwards the fee is Rs 1,500 per student.

Private engineering and professional colleges collect affiliation fee, university infrastructure fee during the start of the academic year in July or August. Many colleges have not cleared their dues to the university even after receiving fee reimbursement from the government. A statutory warning will be kept in the website directing the college managements to clear the affiliation fee and common service fee. Colleges which do not clear dues by the deadline will not be considered for grant of affiliation. The colleges will fill the details for grant of affiliation; routine inspections will be conducted by university fact-finding teams. Nearly 10 colleges have been closed, but there is no information to the varsity. Similarly, change of managements is not intimated.

Senior academic activist Suresh Babu points out that the university is running with 85 permanent faculty as against the original strength of 480. Twenty-one M.Tech programmes were introduced without recruiting staff. National Board of Accreditation rejected the application, as the university is not having required faculty strength as per the norms laid by the board. Though this is the oldest engineering college, it could not meet the requirements, he adds.