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200 colleges push for hike
Highlights
200 colleges push for hike. Well before the issue of EAMCET notification, the private engineering colleges have started pressing the state government to hike the fee on par with other colleges.
Well before the issue of EAMCET notification, the private engineering colleges have started pressing the state government to hike the fee on par with other colleges. As the Admissions and Regulatory Committee (AFRC) started hearing of pleas of colleges which have not submitted their data last year to the AP State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE), the colleges have started demanding their pound of flesh.
“An ad hoc amount ranging from Rs 26,500-30,000 has been fixed for the academic year 2013-14 whereas for our institutions, which are equal in infrastructure, faculty and other thins with ours have been paid Rs 35,000 per annum. Moreover, this amount is fixed for three years i.e. up to 2016. It is very difficult for us to run the show with this meager fee structure,” a member of management of a college located in the city outskirts argued before the Committee.
But the AFRC made it clear that they cannot expect a steep hike in fee unless the state government decides otherwise.
It might be recalled that the state government, acting on the recommendations of AFRC, has fixed a minimum fee of Rs 35,000 for more than 250 colleges last year and declared that the same structure would continue for three academic years i.e. up to 2015-16.
Another 200 colleges, which approached the High Court for being ignored by AFRC on the ground that they have not submitted the data of their institutions, have at last got a tentative fee. The talks are now being held for these colleges for a fee structure up to 2016.
The managements have been vociferous in their demand stating that since the salary bill and running expenditure have gone up perpendicularly, a hike to the tune of Rs 50,000/ is necessary. “We have been advised to follow the sixth pay commission recommendations. We have been asked to follow the norms set by the earlier AICTE on many areas. Will it be possible with just Rs 30,000/ annual fee?” they asked.
Running of an engineering college has become increasingly difficult with a fall in admissions and late release of reimbursement amount, they explained. “The first quarter due of reimbursement amount was released in the last quarter. The other dues have been given at the end of the financial year. How and from where can we bring money to pay the salaries?’ they expressed agony.
Meanwhile, some colleges have been banking on NRI quota of admissions, which is expected to be increased from the present 5 per cent to 15 per cent. The Department of Higher Education is under pressure to accept the proposals from the APSCHE on this matter. According to informed sources, the colleges can collect a fee of Rs 10 lakh for four years of study, under certain conditions. But since there have been no specific guidelines on the issue, state government could not make a commitment, sources said.
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