Parents left high and dry as colleges play truant

Hyderabad: The Joint Action Committee of Engineering Colleges Parents (JACECP) is up in arms against the State government and private engineering colleges for trying to subvert Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (AFRC) mechanism.

The JACECP feels that the engineering college education in Telangana turning into fee-centric, litigation-centric than student-centric. Also, parents are forced to join parties in prolonged litigation on the issue since 2016.

When asked the Telangana State Higher Education Department (TSHED) sources said as per the directions of the Supreme Court, the State government had constituted the Telangana Admission Fee Regulation Committee (TAFRC) of Higher Education on July 22, 2015.

The TAFRC fixed the fee for various courses in the professional colleges in the State. However, three colleges had gone to the courts seeking further hike aggrieved with the fee fixed for them for the year 2016-17.

Speaking to The Hans India, JACECP chairman C Srinath said, "the State government had come forward only after the parents opposed the fee hike demand of some private engineering colleges in the apex court."

The case is pending but, the SC had given an interim order clarifying that only the AFRC of the State alone has the authority to fix the fee. In the absence of an AFRC the colleges can only collect the fee fixed in the preceding year and collect whatever excess that the AFRC fixes upon its formation," he added.

While one case is pending in the Supreme Court, few more colleges have gone to the Telangana High Court praying to allow them to collect the fee as they proposed as there is no TAFRC constituted for the block period of 2018-19 t0 2020-21.

The TSHED officials said that the court had given them to collect their proposed fee due to the absence of the TAFRC subject to the condition that the final fee should be as per what the TAFRC fixes upon its constitution, they pointed out.

However, the JACECP alleged that the TSHED is playing into the hands of the private engineering colleges making the whole mechanism of the AFRC meaningless. Expressing doubts over the intention of the State government in delaying the constitution of the TAFRC, Srinath said, it has become a routine in the State.

There would be a delay in constituting the committee. The private colleges go to the court praying for relief in the absence of the committee. The courts grant them permission to collect the proposed fee, subject to the condition of the final fixation of fee by the TAFRC.

But, when the parents land along with their wards on the college campuses to take admission they were asked to sign bonds agreeing to a list of conditions including payment of fee colleges by the colleges.

Since the parents remained an unorganised lot they are not in a position to raise their voices nor has everyone time to go to courts against the colleges. Even if anyone lodges a complaint with the SHED officials they are washing away their hand citing the colleges were allowed to collect the fee by the courts.

Further, students are scared to stage on campus protests fearing loss of internal marks and the protests of the students' associations have been promptly handled by the police citing it as a law and order problem.

Ultimately, the entire engineering education is turning more and more fee centric than student-centric, the JACECP feels.

Clarifying on the issue of parents executing bonds, MLC and member of the TAFRC N Ramchandra Rao said," such bonds have no legal sanctity. Such bonds cannot be used to justify the excess collection of fee other than what is fixed by the TAFRC," he said.